


Teacher's Pet

by orphan_account



Category: Long Exposure (Webcomic)
Genre: Canon powers, First Date, Gen, Jonas is a kindergarten teacher, Kindergarten AU, M/M, Mitch is a good dad, NSFW, kid!Buddy, mitjo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-07 11:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13433505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The last person Mitch Mueller expected to be his son's kindergarten teacher was the nerd he'd fallen in love with all those years ago in high school. But life is funny that way, and this isn't Mitch's first run in with a tricky little thing called fate.





	1. My Baby Bud

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! Been working on this little thing on the sidelines of the Zombie AU fic. Decided since Part 1 is finished and Part 2 is being revised with Part 3 getting worked on, it was a good time to post it. Not sure how long this one will be, but it's going to be a fun little ride either way.
> 
> Sorry for taking so long on posting a bunch of the stuff I've been working on/chapters. I'm on new medication that is fucking around with my body right now and with the length of these fics/chapters, I want to make sure they're all finished and revised before posting. I thank you for your patience, though ♥ it's greatly appreciated
> 
> This chapter's song write-up was: "I Bet My Life" by Imagine Dragons

"You be good t’day, okay?"

 

Mitch Mueller spoke softly with a cigarette hanging in between his lips at the corner of his mouth, concern heavy in his eyes. It was only Bud's first week of school and each day he dropped him off, Mitch over worried. He had so many different concerns. What if he had mean teachers? What if the other kids picked on him? What if he couldn't keep up with everyone else? What if _ he _ became a bully? What if he  _ had  _ a bully?

There was way too many thoughts that ran through Mitch’s head each time he dropped off his precious son. Each worse than the last. Some days he wished he had just homeschooled Buddy, but Mitch knew that he was way too dumb to do that. Besides, his son deserved to be out in the world making friends. It was only kindergarten. How terrible could it be for a six year old? Plus, Mitch had already kept him a year and he didn’t want to keep Buddy away from school for too long. Mitch was protective, sure, but he wasn’t going to keep an education from his son.

So, each day since his first day--which was only a couple of days ago--, Mitch had been worrying himself sick. It was hard not to, Buddy was his only kid and they had been through a lot. It was a miracle they were even here right now. Buddy was a good kid. Buddy had moxy and personality. He was bright, cheerful, and always excited to learn. He had practically begged to go to school. It was comforting. Mitch knew that no matter how much he worried, Bud would be okay. At least that’s what he hoped.

 

" _ Daaaddddd _ ," Buddy laughed as Mitch fretted over him, making sure his shoelaces were tied tightly, his backpack was zipped up, and his pants were staying on his hips. Buddy then shook his head and gripped tightly onto his beat up bright green backpack. 

He gave Mitch a giant grin that showed one bottom tooth missing and two top teeth on the right side. He was a rowdy and hyper kid so it wasn't uncommon to see him covered in bumps, bandaids, looking a little more raggedy and scruffy than most of the other kids. Buddy  _ loved  _ to roam and wander off sometimes, which would usually end up in him tripping or bumping into something."'Ahm be fiiiiiine. I  _ prrwooooomise _ ."

"You had better be," Mitch smiled more, reaching a hand over to ruffle his son's messy dark brown hair. He had been trying to get Bud to dress a little nicer for school, but it was hard when the boy was always making a mess of himself. Still, Mitch had a really cute kid, no matter how much dirt was on his knees or how messy his hair was. He was  _ adorable _ , probably the most adorable kid in this entire place.

"'Am Mistwer Jo's best kid!" Buddy grinned more, bouncing on his feet and clapping his hands together in excitement. He spoke again, drawing his brows together as he struggled out the next sentence. "'Ahm a'ways on my best be . . . beha . . . haver?"

"Heh, close enough. Good try, Bud," Mitch chuckled softly shaking his head. "I bet'cha are. Ya keep it up and ya might get some ice cream after school." He then pulled Bud into a tight hug. "My lil teacher's pet."

Buddy gripped his little hands around Mitch's shirt and hugged back, laughing loudly before bouncing back onto his feet again. He was always so excited to go to school and he never stopped talking about what he did that day and all about his teacher Mister Jo. He talked about him more than anything else, which also calmed Mitch’s nerves, but still . . .

"Now, go have fun," Mitch said, moving back so he could take a look at his rowdy little man. He felt a warmth inside his chest seeing his son so happy to go to school, he hoped it stayed like that. He knew that the future held a lot of . . .  _ disappointment _ . But, this was only kindergarten. It was easy and Bud was loving it so far. That was all that mattered, right? Buddy’s happiness over everything else.

"Okays!" Buddy landed a sloppy kiss against Mitch's cheek before tearing off towards the Sellwood Elementary building. "Bye Dad!"

"Bye, Buddy," Mitch said, waving as he stood back up, taking his cigarette out of his mouth with his free hand. He kept his smile, watching until his little man was inside the building and then dropped it, frown pulling his face down. He hated leaving Bud, it didn't feel right. He knew it was school and this was how things worked and all of that, but he hated being so far away from Buddy. They were so close, for obvious reasons and it worried Mitch each time he said goodbye. 

He waited there for a little while longer, watching a few other kids run inside and put out his cigarette by dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. He then bent down and picked it up, not wanting to leave it for any random kid to find or try to eat. Buddy tended to gnaw on anything he could find so Mitch had become a lot more cautious with certain things. Actually, with  _ everything _ . He wanted to make sure Buddy wouldn’t hurt himself anymore than he already did from being so damn clumsy. 

Mitch thought shortly on how Buddy dealt with that in class. Did he fall all over the place? Bump into the other kids? Chew on his pencils? Mitch shook his head as if to get all the thoughts out of his head. He didn’t want to stand there anymore so he got into his car with a huff. He needed to get to work, it would help distract him from worrying so much. At least that’s what he told himself each time, but usually he would still be worrying himself sick while working. That was how much he cared about Bud and he hoped this  _ Mister Jo _ knew that.

~   ~    ~  
  


Once Buddy was inside the building, he knew exactly where he was going. His class was Room 317 and it had only taken him a day to remember that number. But none so much as he remembered  _ who  _ was in his class such as the other students and in his teacher. Besides all of that, the room, in Buddy's opinion, was one of the most colorful and fun out of all the other classes.

So he rounded the corner of the pretty yellow colored hallways at top speeds and skidded to a stop at Room 317, almost running right into a pair of legs at the door, but instead falling down on his butt with a soft laugh. That's when someone noticed and bent down at his level, holding out a small freckled chubby hand. The person was wearing dark brown dress pants, a pastel yellow button down which were smoothly rolled up at the sleeves, black suspenders, and a ocean blue bowtie.

"Oh gosh, Buddy, are you okay?" They asked as Bud laughed to himself on the floor.

"'Am okay!" Buddy said with a giggle, taking the hand but hopping back up onto his feet without waiting to be pulled up. He grinned widely then, right up at who he had ran into, already knowing who it was.

Jonas Wagner grinned softly at Buddy, then taking both of his hands and looking the boy over real quick for any small injury with caring eyes. "Do you remember what I told you about being a little more careful, Buddy?"

"Sorta!" Bud said, still smiling and beginning to rock back on his heels, hands gripping the straps of his bookbag.

Once Jonas was content with seeing no further injury on Buddy than his old bumps and scrapes that were fading, Jonas laughed, taking the boy's hands into his own and looking at him. " _ It's okay to be excited, but always remember to look where you're going first. _ Think you can try to remember that for me?"

"Mmhmm!" Buddy nodded, happily holding Jonas' hands, swinging them back and forth. He always liked when Mister Jo talked to him. He was soft and kind and always had the best and brightest things to say. He was so smart, Bud knew he could learn a lot from him.

Jonas giggled softly, beams of slow and smokey looking lights fading in around his shoulders. Sometimes, it was hard to hide his strange light powers from his class but thankfully kids usually never really know any better. It was  _ real  _ easy for him to pass it off to a room full of kindergarteners as something that was simply just magical. It didn't hurt anyone none anyway, right? Even so, he tried to control it as much as possible, there was always that fear that some teacher passing through would notice.

"Magic!" Buddy gasped, dropping both of his hands from Jonas’, pointing up to the bits of lights. He liked to think his teacher was some sort of wizard and he had magic teaching light powers. Buddy thought that was so cool, he wanted magic powers someday too.

Jonas looked for a moment around his shoulders and smiled softly again. They were yellow, which was good. Neutral was always nice. "Yep! Sure is! Now get inside and put your things away for me, okay?"

"Okay!" Buddy said without complaint, rushing into the colorful room and going straight for his cubby where he began to unload his bag. Bouncing on his feet as he did so, Buddy crammed his bag into the cubby, grabbing a few things to bring back to his table. He hoped they were learning about colors today, or shapes. Maybe colors  _ and  _ shapes!

Getting to his feet and checking the time in his watch, Jonas waited a few more moments before stepping inside the room, shutting the door behind him. He crossed his arms for a moment, looking around the room and silently counting out how many kids he had today. It was only the first week back and already some of the kids were getting that good ol' seasonal cold that came with the changing weather and Sellwood's coastal climate. Today, he was only missing 3 kids in a class of 10. That wasn't too bad. 

He wandered over to his desk then, pulling out the sheet he always had to fill out for attendance and what they did for the day. He wrote out the 3 that were missing:  _ 'Abigail Darrow' _ , _ 'Jamie Kendrick', _ and _ 'Sarah Cleary'  _ before looking up through his curls at the rest of the kids he had who were all at their tables by now or playing. Then he squinted and looked at Buddy with a thought.

He still hadn't met  _ Buddy's  _ parents.

The boy was hopping in his seat, already tugging out a piece of construction paper and using his crayons to color all over it. He always liked to draw while class was still getting ready. Actually, Buddy liked to draw whenever he got the chance, but before class usually gave him the most time. He usually liked to draw things he seen, like a dog outside, his dad or even his teacher. He really liked drawing Mister Jo.

Deciding this was the best time as any to ask Buddy about it, Jonas set aside his sheet to turn in later and walked over to one of the pink tables where Buddy was sitting at. He squatted down next to him and watched the boy draw for a moment, deep in thought. 

He'd met all of the other kids' parents . . . even  _ Madison _ . But Buddy was another story. The boy was rugged and rowdy and got hurt a lot. He was loud and fun and easily excitable. But he never really spoke much about home, or his parents. The last name was always so familiar, but Jonas didn't really think that his old high school bully would have a kid . . .  _ right _ ? Besides , he hadn't heard from or seen Mitch Mueller since graduation and going to college. Maybe Mueller was just a really common name.  _ Maybe _ .

Still, no matter if it was Mitch or  _ not _ , Jonas had to meet all of the kids' parents. It was kind of the rule within the first week. A rule he had set for himself. It would help him better learn how each kid worked, maybe their parents could tell him any quirks they have or important details. He didn’t get that with Buddy, which was why he was so curious.

"Hey Buddy, what're you making?" Jonas smiled warmly, breaking himself out of his thoughts. Slowly, he rested his elbow onto the table and leaned his cheek against his hand.

"A rah-coon," Bud answered quickly without looking over at Jonas, keeping his gaze focus on drawing said raccoon bright red and dark red. He wanted it to be more colorful than the average raccoon. It was way more fun that way.

"That's cute. It looks really good," Jonas grinned watching Bud draw before quickly looking up to check on the rest of his kids. "Can I ask you something, Buddy?"

"Uh huh," Bud responded quickly, grabbing a new crayon. It was a light blue color, he used it to draw some grass around his raccoon.

"So do you know how I've met everyone else's mommies or daddies?" Jonas fixed his gaze back to the student in front of him. He was always careful with the subject of parents. He never knew what kid had two mommies, two daddies, one of each or just one or none in general. He found it easiest to just group it all into one as plurals. 

"Yup," Buddy nodded, adding a few orange flowers to his blue grass. He wasn't fully paying attention to what Jonas was saying, but he was paying enough attention to  _ hear  _ what he was saying.

"What about yours?" Jonas watched Buddy color and draw with a soft smile playing on his lips. "I haven't met yours yet, and I would really like to."

"My daddy is  _ rweal  _ buzy sometimes," Bud said with wide eyes as if that was putting emphasis on his words. He put the crayon down and searched through his box of them for a certain color. "I told him aaaall abouts you though!"

"You did?" Jonas drew his brows together and tilted his head. "Well, what did you say?"

"That you is rweally nice an’colorful aaaaaand . . .  oh! An’that yous magic!!" Bud said, voice full of glee as he found a pink crayon and began drawing a big, bright pink sun.

Jonas laughed softly, removing his elbow from the table and letting it relax against his knee. "Do you think your dad could make time to come see me tomorrow after school? If I gave him a paper?"

"Prob-ly," Bud smiled and nodded, putting the pink crayon down, grabbing yellow for the clouds. He was getting pretty proud of this drawing. It looked perfect! Just like real life.

"Okay," Jonas grinned. "I'll put the paper in your backpack for later." He then glanced over at the drawing. "That's really pretty, Bud. You did a lot of bright colors for this one."

"Yeah! I like green grass," Bud said, big gap toothed smile on his face.

Looking down at the drawing, Jonas frowned slightly to himself. Buddy had picked blue for the grass  . . . not green. Then, as if everything was making sense to him, Jonas looked up at Buddy before turning his gaze at the wall behind them where he hung up all of the students’ drawings. The boy always seemed to have problems differentiating certain colors from another or putting the correct colors into the correct places on their worksheets. That’s when Jonas finally clicked it all together: Buddy was  _ color blind _ .

"Ya like it?" Buddy asked, bouncing in his seat as he held up his drawing to his teacher.

Jonas’ attention was brought back to the boy in front of him, eyes gazing over the colorful drawing. “I love it,” he grinned widely, looking to the drawing, then back at Buddy. Kids were kids, honestly. It wouldn't really have mattered to him if Buddy was color blind or not. Right now it felt obvious he was, maybe if he had met his parents Jonas would have known already . . .It would be something he could work on during school with Buddy. Jonas was leaning towards blue-yellow color blindness from how he used his colors, but he didn’t want to just assume quite yet. If anything, he could be completely colorblind. 

"You can hawve it if ya want!" Bud said, holding it out for his teacher then, the big and bright smile never leaving his face.

"I think I will have it!" Jonas laughed, taking the drawing from Buddy as he got back to his feet. "I'll put it with all of your other drawings," he looked over in the direction of that same wall covered in drawings, categorized by the kid who drew them.

He had placed giant white letters on the wall next to the drawings, spelling out each kid's name at the beginning of the week. And in just a few short days, the wall was already full of drawings. So far, Buddy's had the  _ most  _ drawings. The kid was always coloring or drawing.

Buddy squirmed and giggled in his spot as he watched Jonas, so happy that his teacher liked his drawing and wanted to hang it up. It always made him feel so good when people liked his drawings. Especially his dad and Mister Jo. It made him feel special, like an artist.

Jonas hung the picture up with some tape in an empty space before going back to his desk, pulling out a paper asking to meet with a parent or parents. He signed it really quickly and added  **_Room 317, 3:30pm_ ** before putting it into Buddy's backpack, unfolded. 

And before Jonas knew it, he was starting class and zipping through shapes with all of his kids, helping some of them out more than others. He would move onto colors after recess and knew at that point, he would have to spend a little extra time with Buddy on those.

Throughout the morning, Buddy couldn’t get the smile off his face. He was so happy to be learning about shapes today. It was one of his favorite things to learn besides animals. He was  _ also _ very happy that his dad was going to be meeting his favorite teacher. For some reason, Buddy just  _ knew  _ that Mister Jo and his dad were gonna get along.


	2. I Can Handle It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the reception on this fic, as well! Sorry again for the delay but it just got done being beta'd so here we are!
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta readers on all of my fics that I'm currently working on: GhostHand and Sp00kyB00 ♥
> 
> Enjoy and happy reading! ♥

The school day was blowing by faster than Jonas would have liked or realized. After recess, he had moved on to colors, with most of the class picking it up rather quickly. But after a few moments, Jonas realized that Buddy seemed to be struggling and was making faces as he looked at crayon after crayon. The boy had been sitting there for a good three minutes looking more puzzled and frustrated the more he stared down at his paper.

Jonas had given them all sheets of the shapes they'd just learned, with instructions to shade them in with specific colors. Deciding that this was the best time to help Buddy, Jonas made his way over to the distressed boy and pulled up one of the bigger hard plastic chairs to sit in.

"Hey Buddy," Jonas leaned his elbows over the table, crossing his arms, bowing his head to look at the boy. "Do you need some help?"

Buddy had been hovering a blue crayon over the sheet of paper for the last few minutes. He didn't want to get his wrong, so he hadn't colored in a single one yet. What he was seeing wasn't adding up with what everyone else was saying. It was frustrating, making him grip his hand into his messy hair, face scrunching up.

He didn’t answer Jonas right away, instead shaking his head back and forth. “I can does it,” he responded softly, but the more he looked at the sheet of paper, the more he felt upset and confused. Then, he slowly began to nod, his messy hair flopping back and forth. His daddy always told him that there was nothing wrong with asking for help, and Buddy just  _knew_ he needed help.

"That's okay," Jonas smiled warmly, giving the boy a quick hug. "Can you tell me what colors you're getting confused?"

"Um...." Bud's face scrunched up more. "O...Orange...? Gr . . .weeen? .....um....All of them...?"

Jonas nodded. "Okay. I can help you with that. Here," he reached over for a crayon in Buddy’s box and took it out. "You see these letters on the paper?" He pointed slowly to the word  **_orange_ ** .

"Uh huh," Bud nodded slowly, still looking upset and stressed. He couldn't exactly  _ read _ , but he knew that was a word.

"Okay . . . so . . . these words on the crayons are the names of the colors they are," Jonas explained slowly. "Try saying this one a little slower. Sound it out and really pay attention to the word. 'Ooh-arree-nnggee' . . . think you can try it for me?" He looked to Buddy with a bright, encouraging smile.

"A-Ar.....Ran.......Gggeee....." Bud said, looking to the word with his brows furrowed. It didn't sound right saying it out loud that way, but he knew it was right. Mister Jo was always right about these types of things. 

"That's good!" Jonas grinned, then took the crayon and wrote over the blank square. "Now we're going to learn to _write_ the names of the colors. That way, you'll know the word with the right color and you'll get the hang of them. Even if you can't see them. Like this."

"O-Okay," Bud said, slowly beginning to smile, but still looking a little unsure.

"Do you know what other colors you have a  _ really  _ hard time with?" Jonas looked to Buddy handing him the crayon back. "I know you said all of them, but if there's some that you really have trouble with, I'd like to help with those first."

"Um..." Bud looked over the sheet of paper, then his crayons. "G...ween...?"

"Alrighty," Jonas grinned again, reaching over and picking up a green crayon off the table. "I know you already said the word, but you have to pair the word you're saying with the letters that I show you, so." Reaching over to the paper again, he wrote GREEN over a triangle. Then he pointed a single finger at the first two letters. "This is how we'll do it. GUR . . . EEN, see? Sound it out , then put it altogether once you can recognize the word with the color."

"Grrr....." Bud said, looking where Jonas pointed. "Wwweeeeen...."

"There you go!" Jonas cheered. "See you're getting it! You're smart, I know you'll have it figured out in no time. _And_." He reached over to give Buddy a gentle hug. "There's no shame in making mistakes. If you color something wrong, then that's okay. And if you do, it’s not  _ really  _ wrong, it's just you. Remember that."

Bud smiled then, proudly looking to his sheet of paper, then beamed back up at his teacher. "Thank you, Mistwer Jo!!"

"You're very welcome Buddy," Jonas smiled widely, bright pulsing lights of yellow dancing almost as happily around his arms.

Bud laughed a dopey, little child laugh before beginning to color in the shapes of the colors he now knew for sure. He couldn't wait to tell his dad all that he had learned.

Not too long after helping Buddy with his sheet, before Jonas knew it class was over and he was sending all the kids out of his room to meet with their parents or get on the bus. After all of the bus kids took off from his classroom, Jonas then went to Buddy who pulled his backpack from his cubby and was struggling to worm both arms into his backpack. 

Jonas crouched down and helped him into it, making sure the boy had everything with him as he did so. With a warm grin, Jonas looked Bud in the eyes as he zipped up his bag. "You did great today, Buddy. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Mistwer Jo," Buddy said, grinning widely and shyly all at once. "You're the best teacher ever!!"

Jonas giggled softly, hugging Buddy. "Thank you for thinking so. Don't forget to give your dad the paper to meet me tomorrow, okay? I put it in your bag with your worksheets from today."

"I will," Buddy said, beginning to rock back and forth on his feet, gripping tightly to his book bag straps. His dad was gonna meet his teacher! This was so exciting!

Jonas ruffled the boy's hair before sending him off with a wave down the hall. "Have a good night, Buddy. And behave yourself for me!" 

"I will!!!" Bud said, beginning to run towards the exit. He had so much he needed to tell his dad and he just couldn't wait any longer. Today had been a really good day.

 

~            ~          ~

Mitch's car was parked right up against the sidewalk of Sellwood Elementary so it wasn't hard for anyone to miss. Buddy knew his daddy's beat up black car the moment he looked at it and usually, Mitch was leaning against the door or the hood, waiting for him. He was doing just that as Bud exited the front doors of the school with a bright smile on his face.

"Dad!" Buddy yelled happily as he ran off towards Mitch, trying really hard not to trip over himself.

Mitch smiled as soon as he saw Buddy come running, getting down on one knee with his arms wide open to capture his son in a tight hug. He then picked him up, hugging Buddy tighter as he stood up, knowing how much he probably stank of motor oil and gasoline from a hard day at work, but he really wanted to hug his son. He’d been worried, as usual, all day over his rough little man.

Buddy giggled warmly, hugging Mitch back before pulling back with a cute little wrinkled nose. "Yew smell lika car!"

"Guess that means I'm a car," Mitch said with a laugh, grinning as he began to put Buddy down. He opened the back door of his car for Buddy to hop inside. "Ya have a good day?"

"Yeah! I learnt 'bout shapes an’ Mistwer Jo helped me learnt colors!" Buddy rambled getting into the back and tugging on the seat belt. "I can't sees some colors very well."

Mitch was in the middle of helping Bud with the seatbelt when he froze, his face dropping into a small frown. "What...?" His eyes were wide as he looked to his son.

"Aaauuhhhmm," Buddy thought for a moment, remembering what Jonas had taught him. "Like Ah'range and Gweens . . . sometimes Bwues an’ plurples."

"Huh...." Mitch said, slowly leaning out of the back and shutting the door. He needed to take a moment to shake his head and get his mind straight before he slid over the hood to get into the driver's side. "How'd ya learn that?" Mitch asked once he opened the driver’s side door and was in his own seat, putting his seat belt on.

"Oh!" Buddy clapped his hands excitedly. "Mistewr Jo helped me wead the color words an' then wote 'em fer me so I remembereds the colors wit'da words an' sound it makes!"

"That's great, Bud," Mitch said, smiling softly as he put the car in drive. He was so happy his son had a teacher that was so patient, but this . . . why didn't he learn about Bud being color blind before? He was pretty sure that was an important detail, but he was young. He hadn't been tested for any of that. 

"Yeah! Oh! I has somethin’ fer yous," Buddy unzipped his backpack quickly, looking for the paper that was all words.

"Do ya?" Mitch asked, smile growing. He knew for a fact Bud loved to bring things home. Seeing as how Bud liked to draw a lot, it was usually drawings that his son brought home and Mitch loved all of them.

"Yeh!" Buddy pulled out the paper and tried to hand it with effort towards the front seat. "Mistwer Jo tolds me ta make SHURES I gave it to my daddy."

Mitch reached a hand back awkwardly and took the paper, his eyebrows drawn together. This was the last thing he expected. Coming to a stop sign, he pushed the break and quickly scanned the slightly wrinkled paper over. He instantly felt an anger inside of his chest. Buddy's teacher wanted to meet up with him? Was Buddy in trouble? Was he not doing as well in school as he had thought? Was there something _wrong_ with his beautiful baby boy?

"Yer gonna LOVE him!" Buddy gushed about his teacher. "He's soooooo colorful and sweet and soft! He has a tummy like me! An' magic lights!"

"Is he now?" Mitch asked, voice sounding less happy as he pushed the gas and continued down the road. He crumpled the paper up, tossing it in the passenger side seat, but made a mental note to grab it before he got out once they got home. He was going to meet this teacher and  _ give him a piece of his mind. _

Buddy nodded, not seeming to pay any mind to Mitch's sudden change of mood. He didn't usually notice most of those things, unless it had to do with  _ his  _ magic powers. Instead he was looking out his window for a moment, humming to himself and fiddling with his fingers in his lap. It was rare that Buddy ever stayed still, except for when he was sleeping. Even then, sometimes the boy would move and kick and thrash around in bed. It amazed Mitch that his son could have so much energy all the time.

Mitch let out a sigh, then put his happy face back on as best as he could. He looked to Buddy in the rear view mirror before speaking. "Hey? Ya wanna get some ice cream? I promised ya some if you were good t'day. And it sounded like ya did great."

"Yes!" Buddy answered right away, balling his fists and punching them up into the air. "I get Wainbow sprinklies right?"

"Hell yeah ya do!" Mitch said with a bright grin, happy that the mood shifted as soon as his beautiful baby boy looked his way. 

Buddy always had that effect on people. He could turn any bad day or any bad feeling into a good one without fail. Mitch like to think that kids were magic like that, but especially _his_ kid. Paying attention to the road, Mitch then on the radio to his favorite station where a loud rock song just happened to be playing.

Grinning at the music, Buddy brought his arms down and began to shake his head slightly off-beat to the song that was playing and giggled happily as he did so. He always liked with his daddy would turn on the radio. The kind of music he listened to was always so much fun and had a lot of music and fun sounds. Buddy liked that kind of thing.

"Fuck yeah, lil man! Rock on!" Mitch said, laughing as Bud did his little jig in the backseat. Tapping his hands against the steering wheel to the drums as they pulled up to a red light, Mitch tried his bed to keep his mind off this little parent-teacher meeting he would be having tomorrow. Nothing made him more nervous or agitated than teachers, save for most parents and all police officers. He just hoped that this teacher really was as good and kind as Buddy always talked about. 

Otherwise, this meeting was going to be _very_ unpleasant.


	3. It's You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm blown away by the reception of this cute little fic, thank you again to everyone so so so much!
> 
> This chapter is super fun, thanks again to GhostHand (Sugar) for beta reading it! Enjoy, and happy reading! ♥

Jonas was always nervous when he met parents. He never knew what to expect out of the kids he taught and who their parents were or what they were like. He was honestly glad that half of the people he went to school with did move away from Sellwood. It made things less awkward, save for Madison. That meeting was . . . unpleasant. But besides her, all the other parents were relatively nice and easy to talk to.  Especially the few kids he had who did have two moms or two dads.  
  
Still, meeting parents was never easy, and once the final bell rang and all of his kids left, including Buddy who said his grandma was getting him today since his dad was coming for the meeting, Jonas felt the anxiousness rise in his tummy once again. He wrung his hands and paced around his desk. Green lights danced around him and he tried his best to get them to go away before Buddy’s dad showed up.

Mitch had gone the entire day with a chip on his shoulder, hardly talking to anyone and grumbling to himself as he worked on each car. Once he was let out from work, covered in grease and oil as well as sporting a few new busted knuckles from getting a little to angry at a client’s motor, he headed straight for the school. This was the first time he had actually gone inside since getting Buddy enrolled. Instead of looking lost and confused this time, though, he stalked in like a vicious predator who caught the scent of it's nearby prey.

Mitch remembered the room number; it was actually _burned_ into his brain as he charged down the hallways. And once he got to the correct room, Mitch was close to kicking the door in.

He pushed it open roughly with his entire upper body, rattling the hinges as he stormed in. He got an eyeful of the colorful kindergarten classroom. It looked pleasant, fun, and perfect for Buddy but he didn't care about any of that. He was seeing red. That was when he noticed someone sitting by the teacher’s desk.

Mitch didn't even think twice, he was over there in a split second, nearly pinning the teacher to the desk and jamming a finger at their chest.

 "I’m ‘rre. Now you’re gonna tell me what _fuckin'_ problem ya got with _my Buddy_ ," Mitch started, eyes glaring into pretty bright green ones.

It only took the door being opened roughly to make Jonas send a large stream of bright, pulsing green lights around his shoulders. Before he even had time to react, Jonas realized then that he was being pinned against his own desk and getting a pale , busted up, bony finger jabbed at his soft chest.

And, he was eye to eye with the guy who just stormed into his room . . . golden eyes almost. A soft amber brown with dark black-purple rings under them. And that voice. That face.

_No way._

The door that Mitch had just thrown open slammed shut, unable to control the sudden shock of his powers. Then, there was the sudden shock of… this guy looking familiar and what the fuck kinda lights...?

That was when Mitch realized something, the look of anger dropping as he looked more closely at the person he had pinned down.

"......Spots...?"

"...M-Mitch?" Jonas spluttered out nervously at the same time, gripping the edge of his chair. His green lights were still pulsing brightly and erratically around them.

That's when Jonas realized with a sinking stomach that he was staring right into the face of his old bully. _Buddy's father._ Mitch Mueller. No wonder the name was so familiar.

Foolishly, Jonas didn't even think that it was possible that Buddy could have been . . . he was so shocked that he couldn't form proper words. That old nickname . . . Jonas hadn't heard it since graduation day. And why was the door slamming all by itself? It never did that.

"Yer..." Mitch leaned back slightly, trying to get a good look at what exactly was happening in front of him. "Yer Bud's _teacher_?"

"I . . . you're Buddy's _father_?" Jonas blinked, taking in Mitch. He looked about the same, save for some well grown in chops, his hair now a natural dark brown color and slightly longer up top with his usual undercut.

Jonas then noticed what Mitch was wearing, with careful eyes. A short sleeved blue shirt that was left open and had flames at the bottoms going upwards, the collar of course popped up in typical Mitch style. Under that was a slightly torn and oil stained, smelly tank top . . . and he was wearing those same ratty ripped up jeans from high school. Instead of orange converses, however, Jonas noticed Mitch was wearing some scuffed up, grease-stained work boots.

"Yeah..." Mitch moved away completely, eyes sticking to Jonas. He looked… adorable. In his little button up with his nerdy bow-tie and tight dress pants. He was wearing glasses which was new but cute. Mitch was pretty sure he was about to have a damn heart attack. It had been so long since they'd last seen each other. And Jonas looked just as beautiful now as he had then. If not even more.

Jonas blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening in front of him. He should have guessed it honestly, but this was just so… weird. He hadn't seen Mitch since leaving school and honestly he’d thought that his bully had just moved away.

All of the green lights were gone now, replaced with small streams of a steady yellow. He didn't know what to think, how to feel. Everything about this meeting had just went right out the window.

Mitch had hardly paid any real attention to the lights, feeling shock, excitement and relief all at once. He hadn't seen Jonas in so long, he missed him and god, Jonas looked so good. He definitely made one fine as hell teacher.

 That was when Mitch remembered just why he was here and he shook his head.  
  
"Wait, wait… Why the fuck did ya wanna see me? What's up with Buddy? He didn't do _nothin'_."

 "Hey you don't have to get all angry with me." Jonas frowned then, wrinkling his nose up. It was like they were picking up where they had left off. "He didn't do anything. He's a perfectly good kid and I adore him."

 "And if ya fuckin'-...." Mitch stopped talking abruptly then, looking down at Jonas with wide eyes as he took in the information Jonas had just spoke. "...whut?"

 "Buddy's amazing," Jonas smiled then as he pushed his chair slowly away from Mitch, trying to get unpinned from his desk. "He's actually my best student. One of my very best.”

Mitch stood up straight, hands going into his pockets. Now he just felt embarrassed and stupid for barging in like he had.

"Oh..." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the side. "Uh… Sorry… 'Bout..." He shook his head, trying to collect his words, looking back to Jonas. "Then why'd ya call this meetin'?"

"I kind of have to. It's the first week and I meet with all of the parents. Then it occurred to me that I hadn't met Buddy's or knew anything about his parents… or _parent_ ," Jonas explained softly as he gazed at Mitch, getting to his feet before continuing.

"It's my own little rule that I set within the first week of school. That way I have a chance to see and talk with their parent or guardian, letting them know how their kid is doing and if there’s anything I should know or be aware of.”

"Huh..." Mitch said in thought, slouching slightly. "Well, now ya know." He shrugged then, feeling a strange ache in his chest. God he… he looked so _good_. He wondered how Jonas was doing after all this time, so he decided to ask. "How… How ya been, Joey?"

"Uhm," Jonas looked up at Mitch through his glasses and blushed, lightly. "I've… I've been alright. I don't live with Dean and Sue anymore, if that's what you're wondering."

"Heh, yeh..." Mitch ran a hand through his hair, trying not to make this feel too awkward. "That's uh, good. Glad yer outta there. Bein yer own man and all that."

Jonas grinned softly, biting down on his bottom lip to keep from giggling. "I've been pretty good, though otherwise. You know, I- I love my job.”

He then beamed fondly around the classroom. "I have good kids. And mine and Sidney’s apartment isn’t too far from here. Small, but nice two bedroom. We make it work and it's not a far drive from the school."

"That's great," Mitch said with a small, proud smile. He was so glad Jonas was living a life he loved. He deserved it, especially after all the shit he had been through. Although it did make the ache in his chest worse. He wished he could have been living that life with Jonas, but that was just some leftovers from high school. One would think by now he would have gotten over his stupid little crush.

Jonas shot Mitch a small, awkward smile, but it was real and kind of shy. "What about you? How . . .  how have you been?"

"I'm… good," Mitch shrugged his shoulders. "Ma's outta jail… I live with her in the trailer...Wit' Buddy. Life's been...Ya know, pretty a'ight. Got a well payin' job. Guess I'm one'a the best mechanics in Sellwood at this point."

"I would believe it," Jonas giggled softly, his nose wrinkling up as he did so. So much for trying to keep it from coming out. "Most everyone we went to school with have, uh, kinda left. A few of us stayed, which makes this easier on me, you know? Having the kids and have them _not_ be anyone's that we knew."

He paused then, a warm pink blush coming over his freckled cheeks. "Except for a few of us . . ."

Mitch chuckled softly, hands clenching and un-clenching in his pockets. "Heh, guess ya just got lucky, eh?"

"I'll say," Jonas grinned, walking around his desk, and unknowingly giving Mitch a good look at his butt in his black slacks.

"Ohhh yeahhhhh," Mitch said breathlessly, beginning to grin as he looked right at it.

Jonas was heading over to the small tables, picking up some of the stuff that had been left behind by his students, still giving Mitch a good view of his butt and now also at his chubby tummy in the dark pink button down shirt he wore today, which had been paired with some thick black suspenders. "Buddy's a really good kid. I always enjoy seeing him come into the room."

"Yeah, he really is," Mitch responded, beginning to nod as he slowly came back to earth. "He likes ya a lot. Always talkin’ about his teacher. Now I can see why."

Jonas grinned, putting some extra construction paper away onto a nearby shelf.

"I like him, too. He's such a sweetheart. Loves to play with the other kids. He has a very bright personality. And he colors... a lot," Jonas the made his way back over to Mitch and pointed over to the wall where he hung up the drawings.

"He's my lil’ artist," Mitch said, nodding as he looked towards the wall. Man, Buddy really _did_ draw a lot and it clearly showed on the wall Jonas was pointing at. It made Mitch smile, then he lost it. Frowning in thought, he shifted his gaze from the wall and back over to Jonas. "He's uh… Color blind, though. Isn’t he?"

"He is. And quite a bit if I might say," Jonas nodded, resting both hands onto his hips. "But he's actually doing really well with it. I'm doing my best to help him associate the colors he can't see with the words. Mostly oranges, greens, blues, and purples. Nothing that can't be handled with a little more learning. And Buddy will learn to adapt with it as he gets older. He just gets a little frustrated sometimes."

"I never knew," Mitch sighed, walking up to the wall of drawings, his hand rubbing over the back of his neck slowly. "I… Should'a figured it out sooner."

"It's okay," Jonas assured gently, watching Mitch's concern. "I didn't notice it myself, either, until one of our lessons. I just thought he was being creative. A kid. Which, to be fair he was and still is. But there's just a lot more to it now, you know?"

"Yeh..." Mitch sighed, hand running through his slightly greasy hair, bowing his head. "He's a real smart kid. Gots'a big heart and a lot to give.”

Mitch then chuckled lowly to himself, shaking his head. He turned then, looking back towards Jonas with a softer expression. "I was so scared to send 'em off to school and… Ehh, now? Now'm just glad he's in good hands."

Jonas smiled softly, resting his hands over his hips once more. He took in a longer look at Mitch, realizing that it really had been a long time since they'd last seen each other. Another four years to be exact. Jonas felt his heart skip a little, and a quick surge of pink lights formed around him.

Yep. The feelings were still there. Dammit.

It was only then that Mitch noticed the lights more this time, seeing as how he was paying a lot more attention to Jonas. I mean, how couldn't he? He was just _so fucking good looking_ and adorable.

He had jumped instantly at the lights, nearly ramming his back into the wall of drawings. "What the fuck is **that**??"

"Uhhhhm." Jonas swallowed nervously, his eyes going wide and the quick burst of pink turning into steady rings of green around his arms. He really needed to learn how to get better at hiding these things. "I- auh, ah well it's uh- uh a f-funny story, I uh-"

A thought crossed Mitch’s mind. "Did ya go near the fence?"

Mitch removed himself from the wall in two quick steps and had Jonas by his shoulders now, looking intently at him as he spoke. He was scared of the lights at first, unsure of just how dangerous they were. But he knew Jonas was responsible, and if he was dangerous he wouldn't be teaching a bunch of little kids.

"I . . . " Jonas blinked at the sudden shoulder grasp having no time to react to Mitch’s outburst. Then his eyes widened looking right back into Mitch's eyes. "Did _you_?"

"Did I?!" Mitch slowly grinned, letting go of Jonas and taking a step back. He looked towards all the chairs and tables, then began to raise one of his hands.

Slowly everything around the room rattled, then a few chairs lifted up, then the tables until basically the entire room was floating about a foot off the ground. Mitch looked pretty proud of himself, smug even. He had become a bit of a show off when it came to his powers. It was always so much fun to prove what he was capable of.

Jonas sucked in a breath, eyes growing wider as both of his little hands clasped over his mouth. They must have went near the fence separately; Jonas remembered going alone after taking the whole load of their project on his shoulders, having been afraid of his bully and spending any kind of time with him. But Mitch had been persistent, oh boy was he ever, and a little bit of the project _had_ come out of Mitch's side somehow. Only, Jonas never really knew _how_ or _where_ he'd went to get his answers for their project.

Now it all made sense.

After a few moments, Mitch dropped everything back down, hand slapping against his head as he beamed in awe. "This is fuckin' awesome! _I_ can't even believe this!"

"I-I . . . I . . ." Jonas was trying to make words but nothing was coming out. This was definitely not at all like any of his other parent-teacher meetings. This was anything but, actually.

 lowly, Jonas ran a hand over his forehead and bangs with a heavy sigh as his mouth finally was able to create words. "This is so insane."

"Aw, come on, Joey," Mitch said, slyly putting an arm around Jonas’ shoulders. "Don't ya think this is cool at all? I mean, it kinda feels like destiny if ya think about it."

"It's . . .  something, that's for sure," Jonas blushed as Mitch's arm draped over his shoulders, much like he had always used to back when they were in school. It still felt so real, so natural and - and nice. That's when the slow pulsing rings of pink lights decided to make their return.

Mitch held out a hand curiously, wanting to touch the lights as they came out of nowhere. "Weird..." he said softly as his hand went through the pink light like it was some sort of misty, vapor-like smoke. That was when he remembered something. "Is… is this why Buddy calls ya magic?"

"Yeah,” Jonas’s cheeks turned a soft red as he watched Mitch play around with the lights, then at the question. "It's kind of hard to keep them away sometimes. I've done a pretty good job at hiding them most of the time. Just with kids . . .  well, they believe anything. Makes it easier, you know?"

"Heh, yeh, guess that's true," Mitch nodded, his arm slinking off around Jonas’ shoulders. Shoving his hands back into his pockets, Mitch gazed around the room a little more, taking it all in. "No wonder Bud is always sayin' yer so colorful."

"He . . . he does?" Jonas questioned softly, the blush on his face growing at he watched Mitch wander around his classroom.

"Oh yeh," Mitch said, rolling his eyes in an amused fashion with a wide grin on his face. "Always sayin' yer so bright and fun, real colorful. I mean, I can see why else he would say it." He then gestured to Jonas, then dropped his hand back down. "He really likes ya… Says ya take yer time with 'em. That’s really good, Spots. He needs that."

Jonas grinned slowly, going back over to his desk before sitting back down. "I don't mind helping out any of the kids that need the extra time." He leaned his elbow on top of his desk, leaning his cheek against a balled up fist. "Being around the foster kids so much and living with them gave me that patience, I guess."

Mitch had followed Jonas over to the desk, smiling fondly. He was glad out of all the teachers Bud could have gotten, he got Jonas Wagner. It was the right choice, the nerd was perfect for his little man.

He leaned over onto the desk with both palms facing down, his face coming within inches of Jonas’, a flirtatious expression finding it’s way on his face. "It fits ya. Ya make a great teacher, Spots. Guess it makes sense, since ya was always such'a nerd."

Jonas found himself blushing again, bowing his head down a little bit while biting on his lip. Mitch was still so - _flirty_ \- if that was even the right word. It was enough to make his heart explode all over again, seeing _the_ Mitch Mueller standing in his kindergarten classroom. He couldn't even come up with anything to say back, Jonas had been completely caught off guard by the compliment and teasing once again.

Mitch leaned even further over the desk, giving Jonas his infamous smile, showing off his big teeth. "Ya know, Spots. I missed ya. It's been too long."

That comment alone made Jonas look back up at Mitch, resting his chin in between his hands. The smile Mitch had given was enough to make him almost pass out. His old high school bully always seemed to have that effect on him. And it wasn't like Mitch was ever really mean to him or physical in his bullying. If anything it was more or less like . . . like a really flirtatious teasing match.

"Four whole years," Jonas said, in an almost sad sounding tone. He really had missed Mitch, if he was being honest with himself. Not a day went by when he didn’t wonder how Mitch was doing or even _what_ he was doing. He’d cared about Mitch back then, and he still did now.

"Yeah..." Mitch said slowly, feeling a sad ache in his chest, but the smile stuck on his face. In fact, he couldn't ever keep a smile off his face being around Jonas. It had always been like that, even now. "We should make a habit of this. Wouldn't mind seein' my favorite nerd from time to time."

Jonas bit softly on his bottom lip, the soft red blush coming across his face once again, not noticing that his pulsing bright pink lights made a return as he kept his gaze fixed on Mitch. "Yeah . . . I uhmm. . . I think that would be nice."

"Good," Mitch then stood up straight, hands deep in his pockets and smile growing. "So is there anything else I gotta know? Any _other_ secrets ya got for me, Spots?"

Jonas laughed softly, lightly even. His nose doing that cute wrinkle thing it always did as he shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Keep me posted then," Mitch said, digging his car keys out of his pocket and clutching them tightly in his hand. He needed to get home to Buddy; only, he didn't really want to leave just yet. It was just so nice seeing Jonas again after so long. Four years had felt like forever, and he never expected to see him again, let alone have the nerd be his son's _teacher_.

"Here," Jonas suddenly opened one of his drawers and took out a small index card, then reached over at his pen holder and took out a glittery purple gel pen. He bit his lip softly as he wrote on the card, mind racing a mile ahead of him. Was he really doing this right now? Was he really about to give Mitch Mueller his number? For the second time in his life? Yes . . .  yes he was.

"Ya givin' me yer number, nerd?" Mitch joked, trying to get a look at what Jonas was writing. Excitement was vibrating throughout his body, though, he didn’t want to assume anything. Jonas could be writing anything down. Heck, it could even have been about Buddy for his color blindness or something. Still, Mitch was holding the hope in his heart that Jonas Wagner was indeed giving him his number.

"Maybe," Jonas smirked softly after a few moments, having written down his name and number on the card with his smooth handwriting before shyly jutting out the card towards Mitch.

Mitch took it, feeling his heart stop as the hope he had been holding onto became real. Jonas _did_ give him his number. He couldn't believe his second stroke of luck, his eyes darting from the card back up to Jonas then back down at the card. He could barely keep the dopey grin off his face. "I-...Thanks. Heh."

"I figured why not just pick up where we left off?" Jonas cast his eyes down to the side, smiling nervously as he ran his hand through his curls. Man, what was coming over him? Did Mitch really still have this much of a hold on his heart?

"Ya always were so smart," Mitch said, fond eyes looking to Jonas after tearing them away from the card once again. He then ran a hand through his hair in disbelief, but grinned anyway. This was amazing.

Jonas bit on his bottom lip gently, looking back up to Mitch with soft eyes, arms crossed on top of his desk. "Buddy's a great kid, Mitch. You did a really great job with him. He's a sweet boy, so friendly and excitable. Always happy and ready to learn or make friends. Guess he’s lucky to have such a great dad."

"Pftt, yeah," Mitch said, waving a dismissive hand. He blushed at the comment, the dark red color tinting his pale nose and cheeks.

He wasn’t used to such praise over his parenting. Most people gave him dirty looks whenever he was out with Buddy. People talked, much like they always did around Sellwood and Mitch was no idiot. He knew what everyone thought of him and Buddy. They couldn’t have been farther from the truth, though. "I do my best. Don't know what I'm doin' half the time, but...."

Mitch shook his head, not wanting to ramble on any further. There would be time for that later. Hopefully. "Thanks, Joey. Means a lot."

"Yeah," Jonas smiled softly with a nod, keeping his eyes on Mitch. "Anytime."

"I'll...." Mitch paused, biting the inside of his cheek, then laughed softly in spite of himself. He still couldn’t believe everything that had just happened. "I'll see ya around, Spots."

"Yeah," Jonas said again, almost feeling like he was losing all sense of his vocabulary. He felt like a teenager again, stuck on his stupid crush for the second time in his life his brain and his heart turned into puddles of softness once again. "I'll see you around, too."

Mitch gave Jonas one more smile as he headed towards the door. Then, he stepped out and took a good few steps down the hall before pulling out his phone. Quickly glancing over at the note card Jonas had given him, Mitch pushed in the number and began sending a message.

 

_'hey'_

 

_'jus makng sur u ddnt givme a fak numbr'_

 

 

Jonas was cleaning up his desk, preparing to finally head home for the day but jumped when his phone buzzed twice on the desk. That's when he saw a number that he didn’t recognize, then swiped his phone before tapping the text bubble, opening the messages.

He slowly grinned, ribbons of pink and yellow lights swirling around his hands as he saved Mitch's number and responded back.

Maybe today's parent-teacher meeting hadn't been so bad after all.

  



	4. I'm Happy, Ma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little shorter than the others had been, but my GOSH was it so much fun to write! 
> 
> overall, the fic itself looks to be it might end off on 7 parts! so close to being done with a lot more fun ahead! enjoy and happy reading! ♥

Buddy was anxiously waiting for his dad to return at the trailer park, nearly bouncing off every wall, but thankfully not driving his grandma too crazy. It was a good thing for Mitch that his mom was patient and had been through two rowdy boys herself. It made for easy babysitting on her part. 

"I hope Dad liked Mistwer Jo!" Buddy bounced on his feet as he hurried into the kitchen being careful not to run into anything on the way. He stopped to a skid beside Henrietta, his little hands gripping onto the edge of the counter as he watched his grandma cook. It was one of his favorite things to do when his dad was away. Grandma Henrietta always made such yummy food!

"'Am sure he will, Biscuit," Henrietta responded with a fond smile. Although she had to admit, she  _ was  _ a little worried. Mitch had seemed so stressed out over this little meeting, and Henrietta hoped that her son didn't go overboard. She knew how bad Mitch got with his temper sometimes.

"Whatcha makins?!" Buddy asked excitedly, trying to stand on his toes to get a better look but failing at doing so. Even with how low the trailer counters were, he was still shorter than them. Usually he would bring over a chair to stand on so that he would be able to see better, but Buddy was way too excited for his dad to come home to bother.

"Chicken pot pie," Henrietta answered, continuing to cut up the veggies into the pie tin. "With mashed potatoes and some home made gravy. Maybe even some cookies for dessert!” She finished off the last of that sentence with a bright grin down at Buddy.

Buddy gasped, his eyes going wide and little hands balled up, flying under his chin in excitement. "Yer the  _ bestest _ , Gramma!" He then wrapped both little arms around Henrietta's legs in a sweet hug just as the rumble of Mitch’s car pulled up to the trailer and stalled.

Henrietta laughed, reaching a hand down, ruffling Buddy's hair as she glanced towards the front door. " _ Yer _ the best, sweetums. Now, I think yer daddy’s home. Ya should wait at the door for 'em, I'm sure he's gonna want a hug."

"Okay!" Buddy nodded and tore off away from the kitchen almost tripping over his own feet a few times before he made it to the window beside the front door, pressing his little hands and nose against the glass waiting excitedly for his daddy to come through the door. He just couldn’t wait to hear all about the meeting.

It was a few short seconds from the time he got out of the car, up onto the wooden porch and opened up the screen door before Mitch slowly came inside the trailer, phone in hand. He was still in awe - in  _ shock _ , really - over what had happened and seeing Jonas, that he’d hardly realized he was even home now and was walking through the door.

" _ DADDY _ !" Buddy squealed, running right to Mitch and slamming himself into his daddy’s long legs, hugging them tightly. "Ya home!"

“Buddy!" Mitch cheered back, putting his phone into his pocket before picking his son up. "I sure am and yer  _ never  _ gonna believe what happened at tha’meeting."

"What what what?!" Buddy bounced excitedly on Mitch's arms, his cute little hands clutching onto his Mitch’s shirt. It had to be good news if his daddy wasn’t looking mad or upset, he just  _ knew _ it.

"I know yer teacher, Bud," Mitch said, grinning towards his son. "We were....eehhh, sorta friends in school."

Buddy gasped loudly as he stopped his fidgety movements, eyes growing wide and a grin spreading across his face. "Are ya kiddin' me?!"

Mitch laughed, throwing his head back as he did, bringing a hand up to tickle at his son’s belly gently. "Would I kid  _ you _ ?"

Buddy giggled and shrieked as he was being tickled, wiggling around in Mitch’s grasp. It was only when he was able to catch his breath then did he speak with his eyes still wide and glowing. “Dis is ah’mazin!”

"Right? And guess what else?" Mitch's grin began to grow as he pulled his phone back out from his pocket.

"What?!" Buddy asked even more excitedly, his eyes looking over immediately towards Mitch's hand. His daddy had the phone out, which meant something but Buddy waited patiently for him to speak again.

"I got his  _ number _ ," Mitch said proudly, looking over to Henrietta who was giving him a curious look. He would have to explain everything to her later.

Buddy looked confused, wrinkling his nose up and frowning in confusion, looking from the phone over to Mitch. "Whassat means?"

"That,” Mitch said, grin growing as he held up his phone. His eyes wandered back to the screen, reading Jonas’ contact name over and over again. It was like a song he could never get out of his head. And Mitch  _ loved _ it. “Means he likes me and I get to talk to him  _ whenever I want _ .”

Buddy gasped again, then giggled as he hugged Mitch around his neck gently. He was so glad that everything had worked out okay and that his daddy and favorite teacher were friends. They even knew each other before! "I knowed it! I knowed ya would like Mistewr Jo!"

"I mean," Mitch then looked down, “I guess I've kinda liked him for a while then, huh? I actually used ta bully 'em a little in school, but uh--well, uh that’s in tha’past now, ya know? We’re-we're friends now." He smiled at Buddy as he set his son back down onto his little feet, ruffling the boy’s messy hair.

"That's ssooooooooooo womantics!" Buddy gazed up at Mitch with wide eyes and an even wider grin, both of his bandaid covered little hands tucked up under his chin.

"Ahhh, heh Buddy..." Mitch tried to laugh it off, but a bright red blush was moving its way over his cheeks and nose. He looked to the side, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's-it’s not like that, ya know? We . . . ah, we're just old friends, Bud."

"Mmmmm _ hmmmm _ ," Buddy smirked softly, turning around with sass unlike any other before dashing down the short hallway and into his bedroom. 

Mitch shook his head, letting out a light laugh as he wandered over to the kitchen and towards Henrietta. ".....Jonas Wagner is his teacher, Ma."

"The cute little freckled chubby nerd kid ya used to pick on all tha’time?" Henrietta grinned widely as she put dinner into the oven then beginning to work on the potatoes. “ _ That _ Jonas Wag’nah?”

"Yeeeep..." Mitch said with a deep sigh, walking over to the fridge. He opened the door and took a beer from inside before closing it shut with his foot, leaning then against one of the kitchen counters with a quick pop of the bottle’s cap. "I almost bit his head off....Turns out he just likes to meet all tha kids’ parents. Said Bud’s a great student and uh...Ya know, he's colorblind."

"Awwhhh poor baybe," Henrietta pouted for a moment looking at Mitch. "He'll learn ta live wit'it Mitchy, dontcha worry. Buddy’s a smart little man." She grinned as she reached a hand over, pinching her son's cheek. "Just like his fahtha!"

"Ahhhh, Ma!" Mitch laughed, lightly swatting her hand away. He shook his head before taking a swig of his beer, then spoke again as he kept his gaze down. "Turns out uh....Joey's been helpin' 'em out wit' it. Teachin' him colors and shit."

"That's so sweet!" Henrietta gushed, going back to making dinner. "I always knew that sweet boy was gonna be somethin' good someday! He's so good wit'kids, ain't he?"

"Ohh yeah," Mitch said with a short nod, turning the bottle over in his hand. "Grew up with all them foster kids, ya know? Doesn't surprise me."

"How's he lookin?" Henrietta grinned back in her son’s general direction. "Still as cute as evah?"

"Ya know it," Mitch said leaning his head back as he thought about Jonas in his cute little button up and suspenders. God. He really did look nerdy and adorable. Just as much as he had back when they were teenagers. 

Mitch tapped his fingers against the bottle of beer held in between his hands as his mind began to wander with thoughts of Jonas. Sweet, nerdy, cute, hot, adorable Jonas Wagner. 

It ached how much Mitch had missed him.

"How's he  _ doin' _ ?" was Henrietta’s next question. She’d heard a lot about the twins from Mitch and she had always hoped that Jonas and her son would get together. Sadly it never happened and she was left wondering just as much as her son about how Jonas and his sister were fairing after school.

"He's good. Moved out, livin' with his sister," Mitch answered his mother as she brought him back out of wandering thoughts. He smiled up at the ceiling, thinking about the question even further. "'Am proud of 'em...He looks like he's doin' great."

"Good, 'ahm so glad," Henrietta grinned, then rested a well manicured hand on her waist. She glanced over at Mitch for a hot moment before directing her attention back to the stove. "Ya know, honey. It’s been a’while and since ya reconnected and all . . . maybe you should ask'im out."

" _ Ma _ , it's been four years, I can't just ask 'em out already!" Mitch argued with a groan. He slouched and rolled his eyes before taking another drink, but then smiled in spite of himself. He only  _ wished  _ he could do that, but there was no way. Not after so long. He didn’t even know if Jonas was seeing anyone anyway.

"Four years ain't nothin' when ya've known each other for longah!" Henrietta finished mixing the potatoes before adding salt and pepper, then starting on the gravy.

"He's probably changed a lot since then," Mitch said, moving to sit down at the kitchen table. He hung his head then in deep thought, a slow frown coming over his face. "So 'ave I.."

"Like how do ya mean?" Henrietta shook her head, preparing the gravy and checking on her handiwork with the potatoes before leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. 

"I mean, what if he....Ya know, what if he's wit' someone?” Mitch looked up at his mother, raising his arms with the beer still clutched in his right hand. “And I'm not...Exactly  _ boyfriend  _ material, ya know.” 

He finished the sentence with a frustrated huff, setting his beer onto the table before rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not the same guy I was back in high school."

"You are absolutely right," Henrietta grinned in his direction. She pointed a red painted nail finger at her son. "Yer better!  Much better. With a cute baybe boy! Did he say he had anyone?" 

She paused, narrowing her eyes at Mitch with both hands on her waist. “Did ya even  _ ask _ ?”

"No, Ma, I didn't ask," Mitch sighed. With the shake of his head, he lifted the bottle to his lips, but didn’t drink just yet. "Didn't wanna seem like I was uh....Ya know…  _ suggestin’ _ or whatever."

"That’s yer problem, Mitchy. Ya won't know until ya try! Ah’m just sayiiiiiin’," Henrietta sang with a giant grin. "It’s like some destiny stuff, ya know? The cute little Wagnah boy is yer son's teachah and ya both meet up again after all these years! Buddy was right! It  _ is _ romantic!"

"Maaaaaa..." Mitch groaned running his hands down his face. "Just...." He sighed tiredly and bowed his head, dropping his hands onto the table. "I....He's...Got such a good life now and I...He deserves a lotta good stuff and...I dunno. I just wanna kinda take this slow and I.." 

Mitch slowed his words down, swallowing down a growing lump that was forming in his throat. Time and time again, he’d had a chance to sweep Jonas Wagner off his feet. 

Time and time again, he had chances to just take the boy into his arms and never let go. Chance after chance and every single time, it was either too late to act or ripped away from his grasp. Every hope Mitch ever had of dating Jonas Wagner, having him for a boyfriend . . . it just never happened. "I don't wanna get my damn hopes up  _ again _ ."

"Ah’know, ah'know it," Henrietta sighed softly, turning the stove off, slowly walking over to her son. She squatted down beside the kitchen table, gently taking Mitch’s head into her hands. "I'm sorry fer pushin’, honey. I just hate seein' ya all alone with Buddy, ya’know? Not that you  _ need  _ anyone, but . . . I worry about'cha. An'I want ya to be happy. I knew how much that boy meant ta yous. An’it broke my heart when ya didn’t get together. And I knew it broke yers, too."

"I  _ am  _ happy," Mitch said, looking into his mother’s eyes. He knew that she was right, but Mitch knew that he couldn’t afford another heartbreak. The first time was enough. "I got Buddy...I got you. 'Am fine, ma."

"Hmm . . ." Henrietta sighed softly, kissing Mitch's forehead before standing up. She knew better than to push the issue any further. Though, that good ol’mama intuition in her chest told her that Mitch was going to act on this, and soon.

She was a big believer in second chances. And Henrietta knew that if  _ she  _ could get a second chance, then there was hope yet still for her son.  "A'ight baby. If that's what you want."

"Yeah," Mitch nodded slowly and he collected his beer bottle back into his hands, the image of Jonas popping into his head suddenly. "Yeah it is."


	5. World Spins Madly On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh, hey yep! A new chapter already! It was done being Beta'd so here it is! Thanks again to GhostHand for the help ♥
> 
> Also I had to split up Chapters 6 & 7, so you get a little more out of this after all! It's going to end off on 8 chapters now instead of 7. Which, by the looks of things, this whole story might be finished by the weekend, if not the latest by Monday. I'm only a little bit sad about this.
> 
> Enjoy, and happy reading! ♥

The days that followed had Buddy enjoying class more and more each day. He was getting the hang of his color blindness, though still getting frustrated every once in a while. But it was never anything that Jonas couldn’t handle and help the boy push through. 

Buddy also brought home more drawings, more projects, and everyday since their little encounter at the parent-teacher meeting, Jonas got to see Mitch. Since suddenly now he was coming to pick Buddy up  _ inside  _ of the school instead of just waiting outside like usual.

And each time Mitch came inside the building to pick up his son and talk to his favorite nerd, Buddy was always so happy. Constantly looking between his favorite teacher and his dad, his eyes always wide and hopeful as they interacted at the end of each school day. He just  _ knew  _ that they were going to be even better friends. He could tell.

“A'ight, I'm doin' it," Mitch said to himself, sitting inside his car. He was staring at the steering wheel, taking in deep breaths as sound of the engine rumbling provided as steady thing to concentrate on. He couldn't stand it anymore; he  _ had  _ to ask Jonas out. Or at least ask to hang out. Seeing him every day for short periods of time just wasn't enough. He didn't want to jump the gun, but damn did he want to be friends with Jonas. Maybe even more.

"Okay," Mitch finally removed his keys from the ignition and jammed them in his pockets. "It’s go time." 

He then kicked open his car door and got out, walking towards the doors of the school. It was the end of the day, time to pick up Buddy and talk to Jonas just like he had been doing every single day since their meeting. But today he was going to make plans . . .or at least fucking try to.

It was the end of the day and Jonas had helped all of his kids get ready to go meet their parents and sent them off to the buses by the time Mitch had pulled up. Today he had chose to wear dark brown pants, the usual black suspenders, and a really pretty orange colored button down shirt matched with a hunter green bowtie. Today had also been a no glasses wearing day which he was grateful for. 

Knowing now that Mitch always came in to pick up Buddy, Jonas often kept the boy behind in the classroom to finish some drawing or even help put things away. Today, Buddy was helping him clean up the room.

Mitch walked down the hallway as confident as he could, but the closer he got to the classroom the more he slouched. Then, before he knew it, he was fully slouched in his usual position, hands deep in his pockets. That was when he came up to the room and took in a deep breath. It was time. He was going to go in there and make the usual flirtatious joke, have some small talk with Jonas, then ask him out.

At least, that was the plan. But when Mitch opened the door and stepped inside the colorful kindergarten room, he hadn’t been prepared for the cuteness that stood before his eyes. 

Jonas was laughing warmly, his pretty yellow lights dancing around his shoulders as he was picking Buddy up by the waist off the floor, holding him up towards a bookshelf. Buddy was holding a small basket of crayons giggling along with Jonas’ sweet laughter as he was lifted up off the ground. Then, Jonas spoke and Mitch thought that he was going to drop dead right there in the doorway.

"Alright Bud! Go ahead and slide it onto the shelf for me," Jonas grinned widely at Buddy, holding him up as if it was effortless to do so. They looked so happy, so  _ fun _ . The warm feelings were practically radiating off his son and high school crush.

Mitch's mouth was agape as he continued watching Jonas with Buddy. It was so adorable and nice seeing someone besides himself or his mother act so friendly with Buddy. Plus, this was  _ Jonas _ , which made all of this so much better. If anything, in that moment, he looked more like a loving, caring dad than a teacher. 

That made the warmth fill Mitch's stomach and his heart ache as if longing to be over there with Jonas and his son. But, instead he simply cleared his throat.

"'Ey, havin' fun without me?"

Jonas jumped slightly as he began to lower Buddy away from the top of the shelf, a quick little flow of green lights zipping around his shoulders. But once the initial startle was over and he saw who had spoken, the greens were replaced by pulsing soft pink lights and Jonas fixed his eyes on Mitch, still holding Buddy in his arms. How long had he been standing there?

Mitch slowly took a stride towards them, hands still in his pockets as he gave Jonas a soft smile. "Heh, ya must be teacher of the year or somethin'."

Jonas laughed softly, a warm pink blush coming across his cheeks. "I mean, I'm only in my first full year of teaching, so I don't know about that just yet..."

"Hi Daddy!" Buddy grinned, his butt sitting comfortably on Jonas' crossed arms, his little hands holding onto his teacher's shirt.

"Hey, Buddy," Mitch said, ruffling his son's hair before drawing his gaze back to Jonas with a grin. "Well I think ya deserve that title already. Ya take real good care of Bud."

"Mistwer Jo is good with all'a da kids!" Buddy cheered with a grin, looking over at Jonas."He's da best teachers evah!"

"I believe it," Mitch grinned, then placed a hand on the back of his neck. "Speakin'a that....I was uh...Wonderin' if maybe I could....Ya know, repay ya or whatever. For takin' such good care'a Bud and shit  uh...." He felt his heart begin to pound in his chest and his mouth go dry. He couldn't get cold feet now, he had already spent too long practicing in front of the mirror, he needed to get it out now.

"Maybe I could uh...Treat ya to dinner some time?"

Jonas could hear Buddy gasp, laughing at the reaction. He gave the boy a quick hug before setting him down. "How about you go get your things for me, Buddy, while I talk  to your dad?"

"Okay!" Bud shouted happily before darting away, which actually ended up making Mitch even more nervous. He kept one hand in his jean pocket, the other still at the back of his neck. He was trying to keep himself grounded and calm, but really he was panicking. 

Jonas was perfect and wonderful and everything he ever wanted in a boyfriend. What would Jonas even see in  _ him _ ? Mitch knew he didn’t have much to offer, but maybe his mother was right. Maybe this was their second chance. Maybe Jonas had changed a little bit. Maybe . . . maybe this was supposed to happen after all.

Jonas smiled as he watched Buddy run off, then looked to Mitch with another blush. He couldn't tell if Mitch was actually asking him out or just  . . . picking back up where they left off. As friends.

"Uh, yeah, so....." Mitch started, trying to not sound more nervous than he actually was. "Ya know, nothin' fancy, just uh....To say thanks or whatever."

Jonas beamed, gently biting down on his bottom lip, pink ribbons of lights dancing around the both of them now. 

The day that Mitch Mueller asked him out was a day that Jonas himself had replayed in his head time and time again. He wondered if it would ever happen, and now that it was presenting itself in front of him, Jonas wasn’t going to let that second chance slide through his fingers again. "I mean . . . I . . . I'd . . . yes." 

"Really?" Mitch's face lit up, feeling like his entire body had lit up as well, which made a few things around the room begin to levitate. Jonas said yes? Was he dreaming?

Buddy giggled from behind Mitch, putting his things together into his bag, watching some of the furniture rattle and levitate. He cheered then, clapping his hands together upon seeing both Mitch  _ and  _ Jonas' powers at the same time. "Magics!"

"Huh?" Mitch looked around, feeling embarrassed suddenly, everything dropping back down with sow thuds and clatters. "Fuck---Uh, sorry..Heh..."

Jonas laughed softly shaking his head as he went over to Buddy to help, crouching down and getting the rest of Buddy's things off the floor, putting them into his backpack "Here you go, Bud. All packed and ready to go. Remember to keep practicing your colors for me, okay? You're doing so well with them." He ended the sentence with a wide grin, then hugging Buddy gently before standing back up.

Mitch watched closely how Jonas acted with Buddy and smiled. The warmth was enveloping his chest at the sight once again. It was then that Mitch realized how great of a dad Jonas would make. 

And it was only then that Mitch also realized that he  _ wanted  _ to make Jonas a great dad...

He shook his head then, clearing the thoughts from his mind. Mitch then reached down towards his son and picked Buddy up effortlessly into his arms with a big smile. "What do ya think, Buddy? Should I take ya teacher out on'a date?" He’d said it in a joking manner, but inside he was being completely serious. 

Buddy grinned widely and nodded first towards Mitch, then over at Jonas. "I think s'a WONNERFUL idea!"

Mitch then looked to Jonas with a smooth and charming look on his face that was completely masking his panic. He hoped that Jonas wouldn’t be able to pick up on his complete nervousness. "What do you think,  _ Mist’ah Jo _ ?”

Jonas smiled shyly as a few curls fell over his eyes. The smile was wide and beautiful as he looked from the excitable child in Mitch's arms over to his former high school bully. A warm feeling rose from his tummy up to his chest just then. It was like the feelings never went away . . .  and now he was getting a chance with them. "I think Buddy's right. I'd really like that."

Suddenly Mitch was cheering loudly in his head, feeling like a bomb and a thousand fireworks had gone off in his chest but in the best way possible. He smiled big and wide, looking to Buddy. "Ya hear that, Bud? Ya old man's got'a date!"

"Woohoo!" Buddy cheered, raising both of his arms up as he giggled, which was promptly followed by several snorts.

Mitch laughed along with Bud, placing his son up onto his shoulders as he cheered. He then looked to Jonas, eyes softening. He couldn't believe he had just asked  _ Jonas Wagner  _ out on an actual, real date. It was something he’d dreamt about and thought about time and time again, never thinking he would ever get the chance to do so again. But he had, and now it was official: both his mother and his son had been right.

Yet, all the practicing in the world couldn’t prepare him for the night they would have once the actual date rolled around. Mitch knew that. And to be honest, that was probably more terrifying than asking for a date in the first place.


	6. To My Lover, I Swear I'll Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was SO MUCH FUN . . . there's a lot packed into this one and I adore how it came out. the story of Buddy, first date! . . . and more . . . ;)
> 
> only two more chapters left to go on this one! it's been a blast ; enjoy, and happy reading! ♥

The week went by all too quickly after Mitch had asked Jonas out. And Jonas himself feeling more anxious and equally excited about his date the closer Friday came. He never thought that was going to be a chance for him - for the both of them - or that it would even be possible. 

But it had happened. Mitch Mueller had asked him, Jonas Wagner, out on a date and now? Now the world felt like it was spinning even faster than it had been before.

They were set to go out Friday night and Buddy would stay with Henrietta so that Jonas would have more than enough time to relax and head to his apartment to shower and change after class was out.

Buddy was waiting impatiently for his grandmother in the doorway of Jonas’ classroom. He knew that today was a big day for his daddy and teacher, so he had been on his absolute best behavior in class. He was going to be spending the whole night with Grandma Henrietta and that was even more exciting to him.

Jonas was putting his things away into his work bag when the door opened and in stepped Henrietta, wearing tight mom jeans, brown high-heeled boots, and a low-cut animal print blouse. She looked just like Mitch had always described to Jonas, and now he could definitely see where Mitch had gotten some of his good looks from.

“Gramma!” Buddy cheered happily, rushing over to Henrietta with a hug around her legs.

“Hi Biscuit! Ready ta head fer home?” Henrietta beamed down at the boy attached to her legs. She gently ran her long, red nails through Buddy’s hair before looking towards the desk at Jonas. That’s when she blinked a few times before gasping.

“Oh mai gaawwwwddd! Mitchy was right! Ya haven’t aged a day, dear!”

Confused for a moment, then flustered, Jonas felt his cheeks turn warm as he slung the bag around his shoulders and closed his desk drawer. “You . . . ah . . . you must be Henrietta. Mitch has told me a lot about you.”

“And you, too!” Henrietta gushed as Jonas made his way over towards her and Buddy. She just couldn’t get over that the guy standing in front of her was the boy Mitch went on and on about back in school. “Mai gawd, Jonas Wagnah. Ya look as cute as evah. My Mitch nevah went a day without tawlkin’ about ya and gushin’ about how cute an’shit you was!”

“Hahh,” the blush spread across Jonas’ nose and cheeks, unfortunately plain to see on his face. He was just glad that his lights were behaving right now. “Well, I auh . . .” How was he even supposed to react to that? Mitch Mueller? Gushing about  _ him _ ? 

“Oh right, right! Ya gotta head on home before ya go out tonight with my handsome man!” Henrietta grinned widely, looking down to Buddy who was still hugging her legs. She then looked back up to Jonas and shot him more of a calming, motherly smile.

“‘Ahm so glad that you two were able to connect again. Mitchy’s been through so much an’seein’ yous again . . . that just made his entire week, lemme tell ya.”

Softly biting down on his lip, Jonas clutched both hands around the strap of his bag and looked own with a smile. “Yeah . . . I’m glad he’s around again, too. I - I missed him. A lot, actually.”

“An’him for ya, too,” Henrietta grinned widely. She then looked down to Buddy and took his hand. “Common, Biscuit! We gotta get ya home and cook dinner!”

Jonas smiled as he held the door open for Henrietta and Buddy to exit the room. Turning off the lights and locking the door behind him, Jonas took off for the parking lot and headed right for his apartment as soon as he got into his car. 

He wanted to take a shower, change, and prepare himself before heading to the trailer park. This was, after all, a date with  _ Mitch.  _ Something that Jonas never thought that he was going to have.

By the time he pulled into the small driveway of their apartment and hurried up the steps to their door, Jonas found Sidney already making herself something to eat. She looked over from her spot at the stove when the door swung open then closed immediately after. 

That’s when she noticed a very frazzled looking Jonas and almost didn't give it a second thought, knowing how her brother was. But something was up and Sidney was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Hey, bro!" Sidney grinned, walking towards the entrance of the kitchen with one hand on her hip. "You look like you're in a hurry, what's up?"

Jonas suddenly froze in the hallway that led to one bathroom and both of their bedrooms in the sudden realization. He'd completely forgotten to tell Sidney about Mitch.

"Uh ..." He was hardly able to get a word out when ribbons of green and pink lights faded into view. Jonas squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself inside his head. That was going to be a dead give away.

Sidney's eyes glanced over her brother, then to his lights with a smirk slowly coming onto her face. She knew what those colors meant. She also knew that she’d totally caught her brother off guard. This was too perfect. "...you got a hot date?"

"Nnnnnnnnhhh . . . .ooooo?" Jonas let out almost sounding like a whine, biting down harshly on his bottom lip. His back was still turned towards his sister, wanting nothing more than to make a mad dash into his bedroom.

Sidney took a few steps closer to Jonas, arms crossing, her smug look growing. "Mmhmm,  _ suuuure _ ." She then paused, a mix of pride and amusement on her face. Now was the time to really push the Big Question. 

"Who is it?"

Jonas clenched his fists at his sides and slowly turned around to face his sister, a growing blush on his face,  green and pink lights pulsating brightly around him. "It's auh . . .   uhm . . . well see it's kind of a funny . . . funny story. . . "

"Oh yeeeaahhh?" Sidney asked further, now all up and close to her brother’s tomato red face. She didn't have many ideas on who it could be, but that didn't stop her from wanting to know. Especially considering how flustered Jonas was acting.

"Y.....yeah uh see it was uhm .... well ... you uh , you know my one kid ? B-Buddy? M-M-ueller?" 

Jonas wished his brain would stop controlling his mouth. Did Sidney  _ really _ have to know ? Of course she did. She wasn't going to stop bugging him about it if he didn’t tell her. That’s just the kind of person Sidney was. 

"Uh huuuuh?" Sidney couldn't keep the smile off her face as she draped an arm around her twin’s shoulders. Was Jonas  _ really  _ going on a date with one of his student's parents? That was pretty wild and not anything she would expect from him. Actually come to think of it, she was feeling kind of proud of Jonas.

"His uhm.... His d-d-dad...." Jonas blushed even brighter then , rubbing his hand in the back of his neck, doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact with his sister. His lights wouldn't quit moving and pulsing, almost mocking him with their colors.

"Just spit it out!" Sidney said, removing her arm around from Jonas’ shoulders, sighing.

"It's Mitch!" Jonas blurted out, tossing his hands up. The lights shot around him in a brilliant brightness of bright pink , the blush across his cheeks growing even redder.

Sidney blinked, face blank as if she was trying to solve the world’s most complicated math problem. "What?"

"Mitch . . . Mueller," Jonas rubbed the back of his neck again. "From high school, you know?  _ MITCH _ ?"

"No, no I know th-no, like.... _ WHAT _ ? How did he have a kid?!" Sidney asked, eyes widened and a hand gripping into her hair. This was even more insane than she first thought.

"Gee Sidney I don't know, you think I should ask him about his sexual life?" Jonas rolled his eyes, shaking his head quickly. "Maybe he adopted Buddy. He doesn't exactly look like Mitch or anything. It's not something I thought to ask during our parent-teacher meeting, you know. Up until then, I didn't even  _ know  _ he was Buddy's kid. Came into the room busting the door open like he was about to give a teacher a piece of his mind. Like usual. He had no idea it was me."

"I can't believe...." Sidney shook her head, trying to grasp all of this at once. "You're going on a  _ date  _ with him? Like a real date? Tonight?"

"Well yeah . . . I mean he asked  _ me _ ," Jonas looked to his feet softly, twisting the strap of his bag in between his hands. "It's . . . it's been another four years, Sidney. Don't you think that's a little . . . out there? We had been dancing around each other back in high school with nothing coming out of it. And I didn't think he was even  _ in  _ Sellwood anymore. I haven't heard from or seen him since I graduated."

Sidney thought for a moment, finger tapping against her chin as her brows furrowed. "This is weird....It's like you guys are drawn to each other or something. It’s crazy, lil bro. Really fuckin’ weird, but amazing too in some werid way."

"See now you're just reading way too much into it," Jonas laughed, already heading down the hall towards his room. "It's  _ one  _ date, Sidney. We're just going to . . . I mean it’s just dinner. That’s all, right?”

"Yeaaah, sure," Sidney said, waving a dismissive hand towards her brother. "Don't tell me you're not  _ hoping  _ for something more. And don't think I forgot about your weird crush on him."

"It's not a weird crush!" Jonas yelled out after her, then racing into his room to change.

Sidney rolled her eyes and shook her head, then mumbled under her breath as she walked back into the kitchen. "It's a weird crush."

Jonas hurried into this room, throwing his bag onto the bed before digging into his dresser for a clean pair of bright orange underwear, then into another drawer pulling out a dark green ringer shirt. Satisfied with that, he rushed over to a small closet and pulled down a pair of brown pants from the hanger before speeding into the bathroom without another word to his sister for a quick shower.

Zipping through his shower in just under ten minutes, Jonas stepped out and dried off rather quickly. He then got dressed while doing his absolute best to get his curly messy hair dried off as much as possible before darting back into his bedroom. 

Jonas slipped on his sneakers, dug out his phone, keys, and wallet out from his work bag then raced down the hall and into the kitchen. "I'll be back later," he said almost breathlessly, wrapping his arms tightly around Sidney’s shoulders in a playful, annoying little brother hug. "Text me if you need anything."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get to your date, you weirdo," Sidney said, hugging her brother back with one arm, a spatula in the other hand that she held up high. 

She’d never understand her brother’s weird taste in guys, but even  _ she _ couldn’t deny how strange it was that Jonas and Mitch found each other after all this time. There was no telling where this would lead, but Sidney hoped that for the best interest of her brother, it would lead to nothing but happiness for him.

~                              ~                          ~

 

Mitch's head was spinning. This was a date, right? A honest to God date with _ Jonas Wagner _ . Sure, he knew what he was doing and he had plenty of time to prepare, but it was still mind boggling. He felt like he had been waiting a thousand years for this moment and it was happening. 

Jonas had showed up at the trailer looking at cute and amazing as Mitch remembered. Wearing those damn brown pants of his, a really nice green shirt, wearing his black square shaped glasses, and a light looking yellow hoodie. Stupidly, he’d commented on how he looked before Buddy and Jonas made small chat. It was only when Henrietta called the boy over for dinner then did they leave for their date. 

When they both took their seats in Mitch’s car, that’s when the reality finally hit him. That he was going out to a small dinner with Jonas. After that, anything could happen. Not that Mitch expected it to, but he knew how things worked. How dates worked. Maybe nothing would happen . . . maybe everything would happen.

That made him nervous. He didn’t want to fuck this up.

Mitch kept a firm grip on the steering wheel, the only noise surrounding them coming from the radio. It wasn't super loud, and was full of static but at least it was something. Something to fill the quiet.

Jonas was looking out the passenger side window in thought, not sure where to go from here. He’d been so nervous upon arriving at the trailer. So many memories happened there and even just stepping through the front door for a few seconds was enough to make his head spin.

There was so much on his mind, so much he wanted to ask Mitch and catch up on. The first thought that came to his mind was Buddy . . .  and that had been Sidney's fault for bringing it up.

Yet here he was, in Mitch's car, being driven out on an actual for real, honest to fucking God date. With Mitch Mueller himself. And in a thousand lifetimes, Jonas couldn't wrap his head around where he was right now. 

But in the middle of everything crowding his mind, out of all of the questions he could and wanted to ask, the one bothering him the most was  _ 'why me?' _

"What's it like bein' a teacher?" Mitch suddenly asked, breaking through their silence and Jonas’ ever growing thoughts. It was an innocent enough question and one that he had been wanting to ask. Sure, Mitch wanted to ask other things, but this felt like a great starting point.

"It's nice," Jonas had turned his head towards Mitch with a soft smile upon hearing his voice. "I enjoy it. I mean it  _ can _ be a little stressful sometimes, handling so many kids at once. Sometimes I think Sidney would have been cut out better for it with her patience, but I think I’ve done okay so far. They gave me a small class for my first official year, so I got lucky. I have a really good group of kids."

"'Course ya do, Bud's in there," Mitch said with a big smile and short chuckle. It was really obvious how much he cared about Buddy and how proud he was of his little man. Mitch didn't really seem like the fatherly type, but it was a nice surprise. The two of them had a perfect father and son bond. Anyone with eyes could see it.

Jonas grinned, watching closely at how Mitch spoke highly of his son. It was then that he wondered how they found each other, and once again Jonas was considering asking about their history.

"You two are really close. It's obvious you love him a lot, and he just  _ adores  _ you."  That was a good place to start, Jonas was almost sure of it.

"Oh yeah. With what we've been through I hate leavin' 'em outta my sight. So I'm glad you're his teacher. I trust you," Mitch responded, voice sounding a little more tender.

That was a perfect opening. So Jonas took it lightly, careful in his words. "You guys have been through a lot together, then?"

"You have no idea," Mitch sighed, grip tightening on the steering wheel. A few memories popped up into his head as he thought back to when he first  _ met  _ Buddy. 

He tried to regain his focus and looked to the road, stopping at a red light. Should he tell Jonas? He had to be curious and again, Mitch didn't want to get his hopes up, but his feelings for Jonas were  _ serious _ . More serious than when they were teenagers. He could trust him if the story did come out, but…

The story itself was draining. He hated telling it and had hardly told anyone besides his mom and close friends. It took a lot out of him whenever it was retold. He tried to come up with something short that got the point across, and if Jonas wanted details, then he would probably give them, but again...Mitch wanted to hold off on telling it as long as possible. Who knows, maybe Jonas  _ wasn't  _ all that interested in it.

Jonas wasn't sure if he should press the issue more, taking notice of Mitch's body language. Clearly, it must have been rough for them both, but his mind was just so curious about Buddy and how Mitch had fared after all this time with a son. There was so much mystery behind the boy and their story that Jonas couldn't help but be intrigued. 

"Can you tell me about it? I - I mean only if you want to," Jonas stumbled over his words nervously as soft ribbons of green lights came to view. "I'm not trying to pry or anything, I'm just. Curious, I guess. Buddy has a lot of mystery to him, and you're such a great dad and  . . . I don't know , I guess I'm just kind of missing some pieces?"

Mitch was quiet for a second, waiting for the light to turn green and pushing gently on the gas before answering. "Well, for starters, he's adopted."

Jonas felt his eyes light up as he nodded, a quick skip of his heart shooting throughout his body. At least now  _ that  _ subject was all cleared up. Not that Jonas was one to assume anything, but four years was a long time and people talked. Normally, he wasn't one to dwell on such things ike rumors, but it was so often hard to tell what was real and what people were making up.

"It's a long story, so I'm gonna try to make it quick," Mitch said, lifting one hand from the steering wheel to rub at one of his eyes. He always felt strange when he told anyone this, but he had to hold it together. 

"The first time I ever even seen Buddy, he was just a baby in a car seat. His parents had left him in it while they went grocery shopping and I just heard the cryin', ya know? So, I smashed the window and got 'em out." Mitch shrugged then, hand going back to the steering wheel. "Cops got called and shit, but  _ fer once _ they were on my side, so that was....Nice. But..." He had to pause, trying to steady his breathing and fast pounding heart. 

"That wasn't the last time I seen him...I had already figured this kid had shitty parents, but back then it wasn't really my place. I got mad, yeah, but, ya know...I wasn't gonna steal someone's kid." Mitch almost laughed at that, a very bittersweet laugh.

Jonas nodded, listening with intent as Mitch spoke. He could already tell this was a hard story to recollect and he almost wished that he hadn't asked. Clearly, this was hard on Mitch.

But there wasn't any going back now; Jonas had already asked about it, and Mitch was already letting words roll off his tongue.

Just like the other times Mitch told this story, once he started, he couldn't stop. It needed to be as completed as possible before he moved on. Jonas deserved to know. For all the longing thoughts Mitch had about him and just the want he had for him, Jonas was the only outsider who he felt deserved any sort of information. 

"Second time I seen him he was...He was crawling. I didn’t catch glance at him at first, because damn could that kid move," Mitch said, shaking his head with a half-hearted laugh at the thought of Buddy racing around as he often did. "It was kinda close to my, uh.....let's say  _ job  _ at the time. And he was all by himself, practically in the middle of the road." 

Mitch paused again, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he chewed the inside of his cheek. He had been doing that a lot.

"He looked so....bad, ya know? He was covered in dirt and had a good amount of bruises on him. Not like the ones he gets now from fallin' over himself all the time. They were ones I was  _ very  _ familiar with,” he looked over towards Jonas then for a moment before directing his gaze back onto the road.

"What happened?" Jonas asked almost automatically, his eyes fixed on Mitch. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He knew what Mitch meant, he'd seen those types of bruised before himself.

And it was clear from the expression on Mitch's face and the way that those two were so close and so . . . . good with each other that Buddy was in fact abused in the past. Only, you would never have known from the smile on the boy's face or the way he went on and on about Mitch and his home life. 

It was amazing to Jonas, how one person could help change all the bad in the world for you.

"Some lady who had seen Buddy too pulled over and called the cops, 'cause ya know I wasn't gonna. When they came, they found his parents halfway across town. Turns out they knew these people by name, this wasn't the first time they  _ apparently  _ left their kid somewhere." Mitch’s voice grew a little more angry then, his grip so tight on the steering wheel his knuckles were turning whiter than his skin tone. 

"There wasn't much I could do. They took him and I didn't see him for a while, but god dammit, I should've just....God, I should'a done something!" Mitch pounded on the dashboard with one of his fists suddenly out of the pure anger he was feeling.

Jonas softly bit his lip, jumping in his seat at the outburst. He began to think that maybe asking about Buddy was a bad idea. 

But again, now it was just much too late. Mitch was probably halfway through the story now, and Jonas . . . as much as it was selfish to say so . . . wanted to know more.

"..Sorry..." Mitch sighed, bringing his hand back. He was almost done. He could make it through this. Before doing anything else, though, Mitch dug into his jeans’ pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. 

He opened the window on his side to a small crack opening before sticking the cigarette between his lips and lit it. This was going to calm him down and get him through the rest of the story.

"No, no, it's okay," Jonas offered softly, watching the smoke rise from Mitch’s cigarette before it was pulled out the window by the force of air as they drove on. "I'm sure this is a hard story to tell and from the sounds of it, you haven't told much of it to anyone."

"No, I haven't," Mitch said, shaking his head. He blew out a frustrated puff of smoke out his nose.  "I hate feelin' like I gotta explain myself all the damn time. Why couldn't I just wanted a kid? I know in the beginning I didn't think I'd make a good dad and I'd become--...But, it's whatever! I hate all the fuckin’ rumors people got runnin' around. I ain't gonna knock up some girl just for the hell of it, damn . . .”

Mitch rubbed his thumb across the bridge of his nose and sniffed. He was trying to get his focus back. The story was almost done, and he would prefer to finish it before they reached their destination.

Jonas cast his eyes down almost guiltily. He should have known better from Mitch. He wasn't the type of guy to just go  _ do  _ something like that. He hated how things got so warped sometimes that even he was guilty of falling short and listening to others. Guess it came with the not so great perks of living with a cop.

Biting down softly onto his knuckle, Jonas brought his gaze back up at Mitch before looking out his window. He was trying to think of something to say, but nothing sounded right in his head.

"Anyways," Mitch went on, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat as he flicked some of the ash from his cigarette out the window. "I ended up seein' Buddy again, but....Let's put it this way, I thought he was roadkill when I found him."   
  
The pounding of his heart was getting louder and it hurt his chest. He could remember that day with perfect detail. He had just been driving home, it was late at night and he decided to pull over to see what it was. He thought it was a deer, maybe a dog, but no. It was a  _ kid _ . It had been nothing short of horrifying.    
  
"I ended up takin' 'em to the hospital and, God... I thought he was dead when I found him, but, I mean obviously he wasn't. Bud's a tough kid, even when he was so small. He was a few weeks away from his third birthday when I found him and.." Mitch was getting choked up now, so he had to get on to the better parts. "He got taken from his parents, obviously, even heard they went to jail which was the greatest fuckin' thing. It felt like justice or what the fuck ever was finally on my side. But, obviously I couldn't just take Bud in. Nah, that was the hard part."

Jonas nodded as he brought his gaze back over to Mitch. Everything was starting to make more sense. He knew that Mitch was leaving out some explicit details, but at least now everything was starting to come together in his head. 

Now Jonas understood  _ everything _ .

"But after I got over myself and just, the fear of being a parent, I just knew I had to make 'em my kid. It was about a year later before I actually fully was able to adopt him. Fuck, that was rough," Mitch said, choking out a short laugh. He finished off his cigarette with a short puff before tossing it out the window altogether. 

"Ya know, the best part is that Bud doesn't remember any of that shit. I'm always kinda scared he's just gonna one day, but we're takin' it slow. If he does, then he does. No much I can do about it, but I just hope he won't..."

There he went again, pausing as both hands were placed on the steering wheel. Mitch knew that he needed to learn how to just get this stuff out. It was annoying and frustrating, mostly for himself.

"Hope he won't turn out like me."

"I don't think that'll happen," Jonas smiled softly then, carefully getting his words out. "He's so sweet and full of life. You've done . . . an  _ amazing  _ job at raising him, Mitch. I can see it. And I can just tell by the way he talks and he acts. He radiates such wonderful, positive, loving energy. It' infectious in the best way. Buddy is such a good kid, and I'm not saying that as his teacher. I'm saying that as someone who cares very much about him."

He paused then, biting softly down on his lip. Slow but brightly pulsing beams of pink lights floated in around his shoulders, making Jonas immediately blush as he spoke the next thing on his mind. "And about his father."

Mitch smiled then, laughing softly and glancing down shortly. "Aww, ain't that sweet." 

He then looked over to Jonas with a blush creeping over his face. It was a fairly quick glance, but a fond one. Mitch always felt like he was failing as a parent; one of the big reasons he had trouble with adopting Buddy was because this one lady kept saying he deserved two parents and that he would need one after this whole ordeal prior. She had been a real pain in the ass, but in a way Mitch felt like he was proving her wrong. 

It felt nice, great even, to get validated by Jonas that he  _ was  _ doing a good job as a parent and that Buddy was a great kid. Although, Mitch already knew that Buddy was a great kid on is own.

"Thanks, Joey."

~                              ~                          ~

Their date went off with a bang, Mitch taking him to come little corner restaurant that was new around Sellwood in the last few years or less. It wasn't anything super fancy or huge, but Jonas adored it just the same. They shared a two person table and a small meal of burgers and fries with Mitch not eating too much of it himself, but rather feasting his eyes on Jonas and his company as they caught up. It was so casual, so warm feeling and probably just as romantic as any super fancy dinner date could ever hope to be.

Jonas laughed a lot, as they bounced stories back and forth from their days in high school and up to the most recent of events. It was a sound that Mitch could very much get used to seeing and that smile . . . that smile was something he would love to wake up to every morning, if given the chance.

After they were satisfied with their time at the little restaurant, they headed back to Mitch's car. Only, Jonas didn't want their date to end just yet. It felt too soon. So once he buckled himself in on the passenger side again, he looked to Mitch with a fond smile. "Hey. I have an idea."

"Oh yeh?" Mitch asked, revving up the engine and glancing over at the beautiful boy sitting next to him. He had a fond, almost lovestruck look on his face. 

Spending  _ this much time _ with Jonas was a godsend and on an actual date at that. Sure, it was probably more of a friend date, but still, it was a date and Mitch was counting it all for what it was worth.

"I want to show you something," Jonas grinned wider then, his heart almost growing and leaping out of his chest at the thought of where he wanted to take Mitch. 

It was quiet, far away from everyone and everything. And it was romantic at that. Honestly, it was the perfect spot for a date and with it being night time now, Jonas just knew that where he wanted to go would be gorgeous.

That made Mitch's heart nearly leap out of his chest, dozens of ideas running through his head. "Oh fuck, got surprises, huh?" he then began to back out of the parking space, turning halfway around in his seat as he looked back. "A'ight, Spots. Just tell me which direction 'am headed."

"The woods," Jonas bit down on his lip as he kept grinning. It was hard to keep his excitement bottled up inside his body. "Where the government site used to be, remember?"

"Damn, you want us to get more freaky powers or what?" Mitch asked with a grin, turning back around in his seat once he was out onto the road. So many fond memories suddenly popped up into his head, from when they first hopped the fence, to finding out about their powers and so on. Even though they never really got close after all of that, it was still nice to know that Jonas thought about that spot every now and again. Maybe it meant something, after all.

Jonas laughed brightly, shaking his head as Mitch headed in the direction he was told. "No, no, no. God no, I don’t think I could go through  _ that  _ again. I'm taking you somewhere else. A place only me and my sister know about."

"Ahh, secrets. Sounds good to me," Mitch nodded. 

That made this even more surprising. This was a place only Jonas knew about with his  _ sister _ . In a way, it made Mitch feel a little...Special? It made that bubbly ache in his chest grow stronger the more he thought about it.

"We're going to have to walk a little bit, though," Jonas responded immediately, nearly bouncing in his seat as he watched Mitch drive. "It shouldn't be too long of a walk, but we won't be able to drive there."

"You plannin' on murderin' me in the woods?" Mitch asked, grinning at his own joke. Or, maybe they were going to do  _ something else _ in the woods. Though, Jonas didn’t seem like that type of person. At least, not on a first date.

"Would you stop trying to guess and just drive?" Jonas laughed loudly, bright streams of yellow lights filling the car as he did so. He was more than excited to be taking Mitch to this secret spot of his. 

If there was ever a way to complete a date, it would be there. Jonas could just  _ feel  _ it.

"I am drivin'!" Mitch laughed, adding emphasis to it by making a swift turn. The whole air between them was light and happy, something he wanted to cling to and never let go. Mitch couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy with someone other than Buddy. It was amazing . . . liberating, even. 

Besides Buddy, Jonas was the only other person who could make him feel on top of the world. Like he mattered. Like he deserved all of the good things in his life.

He never wanted that to go away.

"Here, here, stop there!" Jonas spoke up suddenly after a few moments, pointing out the windshield. "Yeah, here is good. It'll be a shorter walk this way." He could barely stand his excitement anymore. He knew exactly where to go from here, and somewhere in his head, Jonas really hoped that Mitch would appreciate where they were headed.

Mitch did as he was told and pulled over. He had been around Sellwood enough to know where everything was, so this was familiar territory. 

However, they were going to be  _ walking  _ somewhere. A place that was going to be new to Mitch. Plus it seemed like a special place to Jonas, so it made this little adventure all the more compelling.

Jonas was out of the car as soon as Mitch pulled over and killed the engine. Making sure that he had his phone on him, Jonas turned the flashlight feature on before grabbing one of Mitch's hands, pulling him towards the wooded area. 

"Come on, let's go!" The excitement was getting too much to handle and could very much so be told by the brightly colored pulsing lights that were now surrounding him.

That fond, dopey smile was back on Mitch's face as soon as Jonas took his hand, gladly letting himself be pulled along through the dark woods. Jonas looked so happy, so excited; it warmed Mitch's heart to the core. He would love to see that happiness every single day of his life if he could.

Jonas was nearly running, pulling Mitch along with him as he held tightly onto his hand, the other pointing his phone every which way with the flashlight on. 

The only other forms of illumination were from his light powers, glowing a brilliant abundance of yellow and pink. They connected within each other, making for a gorgeous sunrise orange color as they danced around Jonas and swelled with their pulsing ribbons all around Mitch.

Mitch couldn't take his eyes off of Jonas as they ran. His lights made him look angelic and the way they moved around the both of them added onto this magical day. 

If he could have it his way, this day wouldn’t this end. He couldn't get enough of the way those lights danced around Jonas and fluttered around himself. Mitch didn't want to give this moment up. He wanted to live in it and never escape.

It wasn't long before Jonas came to a turn at the top of a cliff face, letting Mitch's hand go as he peered over the edge carefully with his phone. They made it, and now Jonas was more excited than ever.

"This is it!" he cheered, bouncing carefully on his heels. "Just be careful climbing down. There's kind of a flat facing surface near the bottom."

"Pfft, careful is my middle name," Mitch said, waving a dismissive hand in the air. He was already leaning over, though, his hands going to his knees as he looked down the side of the cliff. Then, he seemed to have leaned over a little  _ too  _ far and before Mitch knew it, he’d begun to fall. 

**_"Fuck!"_ **

Jonas didn’t have time to react or reach out to grab Mitch before he gasped. It was then that he winced once he realized he hadn’t been able to get the reach on Mitch before he fell and brought both of his hands up under his chin. 

He had heard Mitch yell before taking the tumble down the cliff, and it was a few seconds before he heard a grunt at the bottom. And that's when Jonas leaned over carefully to access the damage.

"Mitch?! Are you okay?!"

It took a moment before Mitch answered, pushing himself up and flopping back in a sitting position with another grunt. He had a bit of pain in his back that wound up making him feel older than he actually was, but other than that, he was pretty okay for someone who just took a giant tumble down a rocky crevice.

Well, besides a new tear in his jeans.

"Ripped my only fuckin' jeans...But, it's gonna take more than a fall off'a cliff to kill me!" Mitch yelled back up towards where Jonas was. He counted himself damn lucky that he hadn't hit any of the many boulders that were scattered around the beach. There was actually a pretty easy way down the cliff side, and it  would have been pretty simple to get down here, but falling had been faster. 

But also dangerously stupid. The only thing more ripped up than his jeans would have been Mitch’s ego.

Jonas giggled softly, shaking his head as he made his own way down the slope a lot more carefully than Mitch had. He slid down most of the way, being careful of his footing and where his hands went before softly landing down onto the beach with a wide smile. 

Turning off the flashlight on his phone, Jonas slid it into his pant pocket before casting a gaze around the moonlit cove. It had been so long since he was last here, smell of the ocean hitting his senses, making his heart swell as it did so. Jonas had really missed it here; it was almost like home to him.

"So this is it. It's a cove, and the only one really around Sellwood. My sister and I used to come here all the time when we were kids. Nobody really knows of it, and like I said. It's quiet and away from everything."

"Nice," Mitch said as he began to stand up, rubbing his hand over his the arch of his back. If he was lucky, it wouldn’t hurt as much in the morning. "Must'a been a bitch findin' this place."

"Kind of," Jonas smiled softly, taking in the sights around him. He was glad nothing had changed and the place was still pretty secret.

Sticking his tongue out between his lips in thought, Jonas then brought a foot up towards his tummy, taking off one of his shoes. "Swim with me."

"What?" Mitch asked, head jerking over to Jonas so fast he was pretty sure it would have flung off. Swim? With Jonas? That was a pretty good idea, except for one major fucking detail. 

Mitch didn't know  _ how to swim. _

"Swim with me," Jonas repeated with a grin as he pulled off his other shoe then both of his socks. The sand felt just as soft and warm under his feet as he remembered.

"I--I--.....Okay," Mitch agreed, feeling like his body was beginning to vibrate. He wasn’t sure just how well this was going to go down, this whole swimming thing. He was afraid of the water, first of all, and second of all he couldn’t swim. Which was a little known fact for most people, especially to Jonas. He was going to look like a complete fucking idiot.

“Okay don’t look,” Jonas blushed as he moved a little bit aways from Mitch, reaching down towards his waistband tugging the hem of his shirt up over his tummy. 

It wasn’t like Mitch  _ wasn’t  _ going to see him half naked in the water, but Jonas wanted to undress on his own. It wasn't often that he was  _ shirtless  _ in front of anyone, even for himself, but Jonas was feeling bold tonight. It was a date with Mitch and he'd brought Mitch to his favorite spot in Sellwood. Needless to say, Jonas was feeling real good . . . even if he did want to undress out of Mitch’s view.

So carefully, Jonas pulled his shirt up off over his head being careful not to knock off his glasses before tossing it onto the sand beside him, then undoing his pants and slipping out of them before rushing into the water, it splashing with his movements. 

A soft glow of yellow lights trailed behind him, just under the surface as Jonas stopped in waist deep waters taking in the serenity of the night around him.

Mitch stayed stiff, trying not to stare and turned away. He looked down at his hands and squeezed them into fists. Jonas was so  _ attractive _ . To Mitch, Jonas' body was perfect in every way. From the way his stomach fell over the hem of his pants, to the stretch marks that stretched up his side, and to every single little freckle. He was the most beautiful person Mitch had ever laid eyes on. And he had just went on a  _ date  _ with him. He was out here in the middle of nowhere with him. 

Mitch suddenly felt like the luckiest man alive, but...he was disgusting to look at. There was no way he was going to get undressed in front of Jonas. But he wanted to keep this night going, and he definitely didn't want to bring it down just because he refused to strip or hated the way he looked. 

He felt nervous now, but didn't let it show, keeping his back to Jonas while trying to keep a frown off of his face. He would just wait, take his time. This was a battle he was still fighting every single day. Mitch knew he just had to take it slow and try not to think too much. But that was the problem, he was  _ always  _ thinking. 

Just like with Buddy, he was always overthinking.

Jonas closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply. The night air was softly blowing against his curls, the sounds of crickets and ocean waves echoing off the rocky walls of the cove. The moon was shining high and bright tonight, casting off a warm silvery glow against the waters. Everything around him was perfect.

Well, almost.

Jonas opened his eyes then, looking over his shoulder towards Mitch who was still standing on the bank of the shore and smiled softly in his direction.

"You coming in?"

"Uh, yeh. Just a sec..." Mitch sucked in a deep breath and waited until he could feel Jonas eyes on him. Then he began to undress. He did it  _ very  _ slowly and even hid behind a bolder as he did so. He felt so stupid and childish, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want this to bother him as much as it was. 

Soon enough he was undressed down to his briefs and stumbled into the water and it was cold. Perfect excuse, because now he could hug himself, hiding most of his body.

Jonas grinned widely as soon as he saw Mitch, a very quick bright red blush spreading over his face and the one yellow beams of light under the water now turning pink. Mitch was  _ incredibly  _ handsome and broad. He was built tall and lanky with some toned muscles around his arms, shoulders, and stomach area. Working at the garage must have really did great things for him, and Jonas couldn't tear his eyes away from the pale and sharp build that was Mitch Mueller.

But then Mitch didn't come any further out to the water and brought his arms across his chest. And for a moment, Jonas felt his heart sink into his stomach. Without meaning to, he pouted. "Is that as far out you're going to get?"

"It's cold and, fuck...How deep is it?" Mitch asked, sounding a little worried. He really didn’t want to have to go out past his shoulders if he could help it.

Jonas frowned then, crossing his arms as he inspected Mitch's body language, taking note of the tone in his voice. That's when he put two and two together and frowned softly, almost in a worried expression. "Can . . . can you not swim?"

Mitch felt caught for a minute, but tried to play it off. "Can I swim? Psh, don't make me come out there." He wanted to sound threatening, but on the inside he was freaking out.

He couldn't swim, and Mitch knew that he couldn't and it wasn't like he was able to teach himself right now in this moment. He was fuckng stuck, and this whole date was going to be ruined upon him looking like a fool.

"Now you sound like one of my students," Jonas grinned as he let out a soft giggle. 

He un-crossed his arms then, letting his hands gently glide over the surface of the water with a determined glare towards Mitch. He was going to get Mitch to come out into this water one way or another, and teasing his old bully back was just too much fun to pass up.

"OooooHhhhhh is the great big and bad Mitch Mueller going to come get me? I'm  _ soooooooooo  _ scared."

The grin on Mitch's face only grew at that. "Alright, ya sassy little--" He had began to come out farther then, still trying to sound confident and cocky as the water was getting deeper. It was about up to his stomach when Mitch slipped a bit and ended up falling practically to his knees under the current. That was enough for him.

Instantly Mitch got back onto his feet as fast as he could and turned back around towards dry land. "Nope. Nevermind." That was almost too close for his comfort.

Jonas blinked, having been fully prepared for Mitch to come out after him and grab him in those arms. But then Mitch slipped and almost went under the water, a frown immediately coming over his face. Before Jonas knew it, Mitch was grumbling and heading back onto the beach.

That's when the realization hit him.

"You . . . you . . . you actually don't know how to swim, do you?"

"Shut up..." Mitch mumbled under his breath, feeling embarrassed. Big and bad Mitch Mueller was afraid of a little water and he’d just let Jonas Wagner see that. On their first official fucking date after years of being apart. Wow, so hardcore.

Jonas smiled softly then, running a hand through his curls before making his way out of the water and back onto the beach. The splashing of the waves around him was the only sound filling the air as he moved, until Jonas was completely out of the water and up on the shore, taking Mitch's hand into his own. "Hey, it's okay. I didn't mean to draw any attention to it."

He paused then, offering Mitch a warm, light hearted smile before squeezing his hand. "Maybe we can come back sometime, and I'll teach you how to swim."

"I--" Mitch wanted to say that he didn't really need or care to swim, but then decided just to give a nod. He kinda wished they had stayed in the water a little bit, Jonas looked so good out there, but he also looked so good right here too. Mitch had a feeling that no matter what, Jonas always looked good.

Jonas grinned, giving Mitch's arm a gentle hug as he giggled. He then released his hold onto Mitch altogether, heading over to where he'd left his clothes. It was still too early to let the date night end, so upon grabbing his t-shirt and pulling it on over his head being careful once again of his glasses, Jonas looked over towards Mitch with a smile before he spoke.

"Hey, uhm . . . do you want to maybe come over? To my apartment? Sidney said she would be out for the night and I thought - I dunno, why let the night end here?" He ended the sentence off with a shrug before grabbing his pants, pulling them on up over his hips and butt with a slight wiggle.

"Yeh, that uh, that sounds good,"Mitch said, still feeling sheepish. That was a big step in their very strange relationship. Going over to Jonas' apartment? That was almost like second base, right? 

Damn, this night just kept getting better and better. Mitch decided then that maybe someone was looking out for him after all. Even if he didn’t believe in that type of stuff, something drew him and Jonas back together and something was allowing this near perfect night.

And for Mitch, that was unusual. He never got anything even close to decent in his life. It was as if the world didn’t allow him any form of happiness. But suddenly, Buddy came into his life and the happiness stayed, though through some rough hardships. They both came out on top, in the end and had each other.

Then Jonas Wagner stepped back into his life, being Buddy’s teacher of all things. And suddenly Mitch was being tossed into a world that he never knew he could have. More happiness that wouldn’t desert him and he was allowed to have. Even if in his mind, Mitch  _ knew  _ he didn’t deserve someone as perfect and whole as Jonas. And yet, here he was . . . getting everything he ever dreamed of wit the most perfect boy in existence.

The only thing Mitch wanted now was to not let this slip through his hands for a second time.


	7. Is It Serious?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ i can't write detailed sex nsfw, a four part series ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is almost done and I'm sad! Sorry for the long wait, I had a long week and lost my beat for a little bit. One more part to go! hoooboy.....
> 
> I can't write detailed smut shit, so uhm . . . this is about all you're going to get outta me. But I think it's decent enough, still. 
> 
> I listened to "Curious" on repeat for this, oop.
> 
> Enjoy and happy reading! ♥

It was a short drive to Jonas' apartment from where they had been parked near the cove even though it was in the opposite direction of the trailer park and a little bit past where Jonas used to grow up. But it was a quiet little spot, having only a few other houses and random apartments surrounding the street corners.

Jonas had been the first one up the steps, leading Mitch to the front door as he unlocked it. Once opened, Jonas stepped inside the apartment flicking the lightswitch that turned the kitchen lights on with a soft smile. "Well . . . here we are. It's not much, but it's home for me and Sidney."

"Holy  _ shit _ ," Mitch said as he got a look around. It was way nicer than his trailer and bigger, but fairly compact. Mitch was almost a little jealous. He wondered then what it would be like to live in a place like this with Jonas and Buddy. Waking up next to Jonas in his arms every morning, making breakfast for him and Buddy before sending them both off for the day. Picking them both up and coming home . . . cooking them dinner, watching movies, playing games, and being parents together.

Mitch knew he was getting ahead of himself, but he just couldn’t help it. Everything he wanted in life, he wanted with Jonas.

Jonas dropped his keys and wallet onto the counter before biting down on his lip, turning around to look at Mitch. He had a lot going through his mind then and wondered just how far he was going to go with those thoughts.

He fixed his eyes directly onto Mitch's face, taking in what was happening right in front of him. Everything about Mitch he had missed. His face, his eyes, his arms, his hands, his hair, his stupid and gross big toothed cocky as sin grins. Even the smells of cheap beer, weed, and cigarettes. And now? Now Jonas was staring the last four years in the face again and he was going to kick himself if he let it slip through his fingers for the second time. 

His breathing was shaky as he stepped closer, olive green eyes now staring into tired looking amber ones. And for a moment, Jonas felt his breath catch in his throat out of nervousness, beams of pink and green lights circling around them. 

Before Jonas knew what he was doing, he brought both hands up to Mitch's face almost too scared to plant them directly onto his cheeks. So they lingered, fingertips brushing just barely against pale skin. 

Then finally, Jonas was able to find his voice. And he only had one simple request: "Kiss me."

Mitch couldn't believe what was happening right in front of him. From the touching, to the look on Jonas’ face, it was all so much. Then he went and asked to be  _ kissed _ . Mitch couldn't even speak. 

He wanted to think he had misheard, but knew that he hadn't. Jonas had asked been asked to kiss him, and it felt like Mitch's world was spinning. This is what he had been wanting. He hadn't expected it so soon, but it had been four long years and if...if maybe Jonas felt the same way Mitch felt, then it was four years too many. 

Mitch didn't want to hesitate any longer. He had been waiting forever for this moment and even if this was going to come crashing down, he wanted to try. So, before losing another ounce of courage left in his body, he did. 

With his heart pounding and mind racing, Mitch began to lean down, then paused.  _ No _ . He was overthinking again. He had made such a habit of that and he hated it. Looking into Jonas’ beautiful eyes, he question himself; questioned this. His voice cracked as he spoke.

"Really?" It was the only word he could get out. He wanted to ask more, needed an explanation. He needed to know for sure what Jonas felt and it was so stupid. He should just do it, and he wanted to so desperately, but he couldn't. It was that same fear . . .just like at the cove. 

Jonas was so perfect and Mitch was far from that. He was a fuck up who had made more mistakes than he could count. He let his anger and bitterness get the best of him. Why would Jonas want  _ anything  _ to do with that? With  _ him _ ?

“Yes,” Jonas nodded, his voice coming in soft and sweet. His eyes glanced over Mitch’s worried and still expression.  _ “I missed you _ , Mitch. I missed you so much and . . . all this time. It’s been too long. Another four years and I never knew - I never knew if you were still in Sellwood or if . . . if what we could have had before was just a high school crush that wasn't supposed to happen. But it's not that. It's way more than that and Mitch, I . . ."

He was starting to get choked up, looking deeply into Mitch's eyes as he finally placed both of his soft little hands over Mitch's cheeks, standing on his tiptoes so that he was able to reach the tall man in front of him. "And I don't want another four years to go by, wondering again if I made the wrong choice, the same stupid mistake, in letting you just . . . slip through my hands."

"Joey..." Mitch said softly, his own hand now coming up to press against Jonas' warm, chubby cheek.  _ That  _ was what Mitch was looking for. It was all the answer he needed in that moment. Though it wasn't enough to make him feel any better about himself or completely understand why Jonas liked him, it still proved something. It  _ meant  _ something. So he leaned further down, allowing himself to feel this. Allowing himself to  _ want _ this.

His lips then brushed against Jonas', but he didn't hesitate. Mitch didn't want to wait any longer. The moment was here, and he’d be damned if he let Jonas slip away too.

Jonas felt his breath catch for the second time as Mitch came down closer towards him. Everything was happening in slow motion that he almost didn’t catch what happened next.

Because suddenly their lips were touching and Jonas felt like his entire body had exploded into a billion fireworks. The ribbons of light surrounding them turned into a solid and vibrant pink, pulsing and weaving around the air as his inner emotions surged in the kiss.

Yes, this was absolutely real. Mitch was  _ kissing  _ him. After so long, Mitch was finally kissing him. But then Jonas realized that in that very same moment, he was kissing Mitch  _ back _ .

The kiss started out very slow and tender, but Mitch couldn't help himself and soon added a little more force behind it. It was as if all the hunger and longing he had over the years was finally able to get out.

That it  _ needed  _ to get out.

Jonas didn't shy away or back off the kiss when Mitch added a little more to it. In fact, he did the complete opposite. He had been waiting far too damn long for this moment and he wasn't going to let it go. 

So Jonas, instead, matched the kiss. Pushing out every intensity that he had been holding in his body for all this time. His fingers gently curling around Mitch's earlobes and his back arching the more he gave into the sweet and bitter taste their lips made together. Sparks were still flying off in his head, his entire body felt like it had been set to vibrate permanently.

This was happening. And Jonas didn’t want to let go of a single second.

Mitch found himself pushing Jonas against one of the kitchen counters, hand pressing onto its cold surface as the other stayed firmly on the side of Jonas' face, thumb moving over his soft freckled skin. He felt like he was on a new kind of high as he kissed Jonas, and he was desperate to get addicted to it.

Jonas was taken by surprise, but only for a moment and he noticed that things around the room began to levitate as Mitch's powers began to take hold with the emotions that were running rampant throughout his body. The kiss alone was enough to tell Jonas that he  _ wanted  _ this and wanted it more than anything else.

And there was no way Jonas was going to let that stop him.

Their mouths seemed to battle each other for control, but only for a short while. Once they were in a rhythm of hunger, their mouths fit a little better. It was almost like they were made for each other and nothing else in the world mattered. 

It was only then that Jonas was able to find his body and clutched his hands onto Mitch's shirt, grabbing it up into tiny fists, slowly edging himself away from the counter and towards the hallway, taking Mitch along with him. He was going to do this right, one way or another.

As they moved, Mitch didn't want to move  _ away  _ from Jonas, his hands gripping onto the shorter boy’s shoulders to keep himself steady as they continued to kiss with more force. Just knowing that Jonas was kissing him back let his brain know this wasn't a mistake.  _ This was right. _ This was what they both wanted. It calmed his fears and made his mind go silent for the first time in forever. It was the best feeling in the world.

Jonas stumbled slightly as he tugged Mitch down the hall towards his bedroom, not giving a second thought to anything. He wanted this and he could tell that Mitch did, too. This was real, and it was right, and it was  _ here _ .  Jonas was pretty sure that he’d never wanted something so much in his entire life as he did right now.

But he pulled away slightly from the kiss, their noses touching as he fully dragged Mitch into his bedroom, only to then push him back against the door, closing it immediately with a loud thud and click of the lock. 

Before Jonas knew what he was doing, his lips were right back onto Mitch's, hands going for his jeans as soft and shaky fingers fumbled blindly about looking for the worn leather belt that Mitch was wearing.

Mitch was jolted back down to reality when he realized what was happening. He wasn't complaining, that was for damn sure, but it was a surprise coming from Jonas. He had always seen Jonas as this sweet, innocent little nerd. Not this, no definitely not this; it was new, different, and exciting. Something that Mitch had so often fantasized and wondered about. And it was happening now, right here in front of him. Turns out Jonas had a lot more secrets to him than let on. So Mitch let his own hands roam over Jonas’ body, wanting so desperately to touch him.

It didn’t take long for one of his hands to find its way under Jonas' shirt, roaming up his soft curvy side, taking in just how  _ warm  _ he was. The feeling of his skin was intoxicating and Mitch wanted more of it.

Jonas had shivered with the touch at first. He had never been touched in any kind of way like this before and to be honest, it scared him a little bit. But he trusted Mitch, and if Mitch didn't want him then they wouldn't be here right now. No, Jonas could tell that Mitch wanted him as much as  _ he  _ wanted  _ Mitch _ . And it started with that single touch.

Their lips never parting, Jonas' fingers found their destination at Mitch's belt, slowly slipping the leather out through the first belt loop, then out of it's clasp before becoming fully opened at the mercy of a single silver metal button. It was right there, immediately ready for the taking from Jonas' soft little fingers.

And oh how hungry Jonas Wagner truly was.

_ Holy fuck. _ Mitch felt dizzy. This was actually happening. He had fantasies about this sort of thing happening, but he never expected them to actually come true. Mitch was already excited, jutting his hips forward to give Jonas a better angle at just  _ how  _ excited he really was.

Jonas didn't need to look down or open the button on the jeans to know that Mitch was already hard. It was obvious and to be honest, Jonas himself was already there. He bit down on his bottom lip softly, breaking the kiss as his fingers slowly unbuttoned Mitch's jeans, soft green eyes looking up at the man in front of him through his glasses.

" _ Holy fuck _ ," Mitch whispered out breathlessly, eyes gazing down at Jonas’ adorable face. Mostly, it was because of how bold Jonas was being and well, this was fucking  _ awesome _ . Definitely not where Mitch had originally thought the night was going, but again. Zero complaints.

"Yeah, that's kind of the plan, isn't it now?" Jonas grinned breathlessly, though the blush coming over his face kind of gave his boldness away some.

"Heh, ya got one sense'a humor," Mitch chuckled softly. 

Then he suddenly leaned down, hands roaming down to Jonas' butt with a sly grin on his face. Following directly after that, Mitch was picking Jonas up, practically throwing him over his shoulder as he casually strode over to the large bed in front of them.

Jonas giggled as soon as Mitch's hands had touched his butt. It had come to a surprise at first, but was soon then welcomed. But then Mitch lifted Jonas up off his feet with little to no effort and practically slung him over one shoulder. Then Mitch began to walk and Jonas bit down flirtatiously on his bottom lip, looking over his shoulder at where their destination now was.

Once he was right up on the bed, Mitch flopped Jonas down onto it, hovering over him with that infamous grin of his. Lingering his gaze onto the beautiful boy laying in front of him, Mitch leaned down only to catch Jonas’ lips back in with his own, giving just as much emotion as before if not more. 

He loved kissing those sweet, soft plump lips, tasting Jonas’ tongue and getting lost inside of his mouth. To Mitch, Jonas tasted like every sweet thing the world had to offer and it was a dream come true.

Kissing Mitch was an experience; like a shockwave that went through your body, sending out electrical pulses that shook your nerves and fried your brain into nothingness. He tasted bittersweet, but it was the kind of bittersweet you wanted  _ more  _ of. And matched up with those huge teeth that gently gnawed and pulled at his lips, Jonas was enveloped in a pure state of static bliss. He never wanted to come down from this.

One of Mitch’s  rough hands began tracing over Jonas' stomach, taking in every bit of softness and dammit, just the way his  _ shape _ was. A callous on Mitch’s palm scratched gently against Jonas’ skin which made the boy under him shudder in the best way. Jonas was so flawless, so stunning and beautiful; and being able to  _ touch  _ these parts of him? Well, it nearly drove Mitch crazy.

Arching his back ever so slightly, Jonas leaned more into Mitch's touch. He  _ wanted  _ Mitch's hands to go everywhere and he was starting to feel a little impatient. Figuring Mitch was the type of guy who loved to tease and take his time with foreplay was easy. Jonas already had that part all figured out. Whereas Jonas himself had just went right for the metaphorical throat, having already undid Mitch's pants the moment they entered the bedroom.

So Jonas traveled his soft little hands up from Mitch's God-sent defined arms and all the way around his shoulders, his fingertips loosely gliding over the paleness of Mitch's neck. Fixing his eyes softly over the man in front of him, Jonas bit down on his own lip. 

God . . . he was so hard, so ready. But was  _ Mitch   _ ready? They were - in all actuality - both very much hard. Jonas had already known that, but damn. This was all just so much fun.

Mitch pulled away from the kiss suddenly, but only because he needed some air. Though he didn't stay away for long because honestly how  _ could  _ he? He went right to kissing his way down Jonas’ jawline, stopping every now and then to gather in some of the skin between his teeth, carefully. He would work his tongue then gently around the skin, hoping to leave a few marks along the way. Pausing for a moment, Mitch smirked at the notion and chuckled lowly to himself.

His hand was still slowly moving around Jonas’ body, caressing and rubbing its way further up towards Jonas' chest. He was, without a doubt, fully enjoying taking his time. And he knew that the boy under him was also enjoying this sort of playful act. Mitch wanted to last in this moment for as long as he could stand after having waited for it for so long. Yet, at the same time, Mitch was pretty sure that almost if not all of his blood flow had immediately rushed downwards. And it was making him want to speed things along.

"Take my shirt off," Jonas breathed softly, almost sounding as if he was just  _ begging  _ for Mitch to take him right then and there. His hands were already working their way over Mitch's tattered jean vest, pushing it off from around his shoulders, plump lips pressing gently over the side of Mitch’s neck in the most teasing of ways.

"If that's what you want," Mitch said, the smile obvious in his voice and even more so once he pulled back, hands yanking off Jonas' shirt and tossing it over his shoulder onto the floor. He then took a second to look at Jonas, wanting to see _ just how good  _ he looked in that very moment. 

But it wasn’t long before Mitch's mouth was on instantly on Jonas' collarbones, his hands moving over every inch of skin possible, moving even closer towards those delicious hips of his. God this was so good; like drinking down a bottle of your favorite alcohol good. Jonas was  _ intoxicating  _  in all of the best ways and Mitch wanted more.

His back arched in such a way that he was actually pressing himself up even more against Mitch's torso. Jonas loved the feeling of Mitch's hands roaming all around his body, gently caressing and exploring every curve and roll he had. It sent nothing but pleasurable shivers up his spine. He had never been touched like this before, though he knew it was he’d always wanted. Now that he was getting it, Jonas realized just how touch starved he’d been and how hungry he was for the attention he so longingly craved for all these years.

Then Mitch's mouth was instantly on his collarbones and Jonas had very little time to react. A soft, pleasured whine came from his mouth as soon as Mitch began to suck and bite at the soft skin. Jonas realized then that  he wanted Mitch and wanted Mitch  _ now _ .

So he grabbed onto Mitch's shirt, yanking it up over his back and stomach, desperate to get his growing erection the attention it was begging for. "Take it off," Jonas spoke almost breathlessly, a pleading in his voice.

"I--," Mitch paused then, pulling back.  _ No _ , he wasn't going to do this again. He had already done it at the cove and it was frustrating but not now. Anything but now. This was what he had wanted to for so long and he was hesitating, because he didn't want Jonas to see him. He thought it would be easy after opening up a little on the beach, but seeing Jonas. Seeing how gorgeous he was and then remembering himself? 

_ No _ . He  _ had  _ to suck this up. He wanted to get so distracted by Jonas and get so close to him that Mitch wouldn't have time to react or think of himself. He wanted to forget about his problems for a little bit so he could  _ enjoy  _ this. 

Mitch squeezed his eyes shut, pushing away all the thoughts that were racing around his mind and nodded quickly. He pulled off his shirt as fast as possible; if he did it quick and got right back to business, he would be able to ignore himself . . .his everything. Just put his focus on Jonas and forget about his disgusting form. 

He hunched back over the beautiful man before him, a hand brushing through Jonas' dark curls before kissing at his jaw again. Mitch knew needed to stay distracted. If Jonas thought he was as terrible and gross as he thought himself to be, then he would have pulled away, right? Right.

Jonas felt his eyes roll into the back of his head the moment Mitch tangled his fingers through his hair. He was being kissed again and Jonas found his hands firmly planted on Mitch's bare back, shivering with pleasure and anticipation as he did so.

"Wait, wait," he spoke softly, pulling away only a little bit so he could get a good look at Mitch. He grinned, bringing his soft little hands back around to the front of Mitch's body, fingers tracing over prominent collar bones. "I want to look at you."

Mitch very obviously flinched, but tried to keep up a smile and laugh though it came out shaky and nervous. Jonas wanted to  _ look  _ at him. God, that made him feel strange, and in the muddled mess of his head, Mitch couldn't tell if it was a good strange or a bad strange. 

However, the feeling of Jonas' hands felt red hot on his skin . . almost giving it a sort of pleasurable burning sensation. Maybe it was from the anxiety swelling up inside his stomach or simply from the situation he was facing. But the multiple different and confused feelings Mitch was having made a bit of the bedroom around them begin to levitate off the ground, a few things vibrating as they flew up towards the ceiling.

"Wow," Jonas breathed softly, ignoring the various items that were now floating around his bedroom. Steady pulsing streams of his lights formed around him in bright colors of yellow and pink as he looked over Mitch's body, his hands pressing gently against pale skin.

Mitch felt . . . strong. And Jonas couldn't help but to run his hands slowly all around Mitch's shoulders, collar bones, arms, chest, sides, stomach . . . all the way down near his defined hip bones. He blushed then, the traces of yellow light fading into nothing but a brilliant pink.

Finally, his eyes were lifted back to look at Mitch, both hands resting on broad shoulders, thumbs circling on exposed skin. "You're so handsome, Mitch."

Mitch had his head mostly bowed, smile wavering even more but trying so hard to bring it back. Jonas was touching him gently all over with those soft tiny hands of his, even going so far as to giving him a  _ compliment _ . . . and to Mitch that meant everything. 

He needed to calm down and relax. This was okay. Jonas didn't look at all disgusted or disappointed. He looked amazed, mesmerized even. Maybe a little bit in awe, as well. Everything was  _ okay _ . 

Plus, Mitch had to admit that he adored the feeling of Jonas' hands on him. It was new and different, something he had never felt before. 

"Hah, yer jus' sayin' that to butter me up," Mitch said, slowly beginning to breathe again. It was big, deep breaths to help calm his nerves but they were breathes nonetheless. He braved bringing his head back up, looking into Jonas’ eyes. It made him feel a little more calm; a little more okay.

Jonas shook his head softly, pressing plump lips against Mitch’s bare, pale skin. He trailed a hand slowly up Mitch’s arm, up onto his shoulder and back down again. “No . . . I mean it. You’re amazing. Stunning, handsome . . . everything that I knew you were years ago. Everything I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to have and now?”

He paused then, soft eyes casting up to look at Mitch through his glasses. The other man was blushing, seemingly flustered at the comments and touching. That made Jonas feel all the more brave and in control. Biting down softly on his lip, Jonas inched his way up closer to Mitch’s face, both hands trailing over his strong jaw. 

“Mitch . . . I need to know something.”

Mitch felt his heart sink into his stomach. Was Jonas second guessing this? Or did he just have questions about their situation? They were both still hard, even Mitch could tell that, and the look in Jonas’ eyes didn’t hold any kind of regret or wondering. Even the bright, pulsating ribbons of pink didn’t diminish. The mood was still there, but Mitch swallowed thickly anyway and nodded slowly. “Yeah . . . anythin’, Joey. Anythin’.”

Jonas moved closer, his lips just barely touching Mitch’s. It sent a shiver through both of their bodies, the anticipation killing them both. But Jonas was smart . . . and sneaky. He knew exactly what he was doing in this moment. He  _ knew  _ how to play the game.

“Do you want to fuck me?”

_ Woah _ . . .  that completely caught Mitch off guard and he stuttered a few times, blinking. A few things in Jonas’ bedroom began to rattle and vibrate, moving about the room erratically as Mitch’s emotions surged emphatically. He swallowed again, bringing himself back over Jonas, forcing the other to lay down on his back, like some kind of prey. Mitch was suddenly feeling less self conscious and more bold . . . more predatory. Hell  _ yes  _  he wanted to fuck Jonas. Wanted Jonas from the moment he barged into the classroom yelling about his son. Wanted Jonas all those years ago. And now that he was getting a second chance. . . he wanted Jonas more than ever before.

Jonas had his small, warm little freckled hands over his chest and Mitch for a moment hesitated, unsure of if he wanted to speak first or kiss him. So he leaned down, being held up by his hands and knees, brushing their lips together in a hungry, sloppy tongue wrestling kiss. Jonas seemed to want dominance, but Mitch wasn't going to let him win that easily. No, he  _ wanted  _  poor little Jonas Wagner. And he was going to make sure that his son’s kindergarten teacher knew it.

“Yes,” Mitch finally spoke, huskily and almost in a growl rumbling from his chest. “God, yes. I wanna fuck ya, Jonas. And shit . . . even more than just that.”

Jonas looked up at Mitch, biting down softly onto his lip before casting pretty olive green eyes around the room. He took in the moment, took in their powers working together. Then looked back to Mitch with a look that could only be described as sultry and wanting.

“Good, because that’s exactly what I want.”

Mitch was on Jonas in an instant then, pressing his lips first against Jonas’, then against that beautiful chocolate colored, freckled skin of his. Biting gently at his neck, then pressing his tongue flat against warm skin and began to suck with vicious hunger. He wanted to mark Jonas, wanted people to know that Jonas was everything to him. The love of his entire life, Buddy’s favorite teacher, the very person that Mitch wanted nothing more than to hold and have for the rest of his miserable life. His brain was fired on erotic romance and there was absolutely nothing stopping him. 

Jonas was going to become his tonight.

For a moment, Mitch stopped the hickey marking to catch his breath. Jonas had already been making little whines and whimpers under him, fingers threading into hair and gripping softly. He swallowed and drew in another heavy breath before pressing his lips on Jonas’ adams apple. Carefully, he grazed his big teeth over the skin there, sending shivers up Jonas’ spine and making him whimper once again.

“Tell me somethin’, Jonas,” Mitch spoke again, his lips moving  _ against _ Jonas’ neck as he spoke. When Jonas responded with a questionable whine, Mitch smugly grinned, trailing his mouth then down onto that bare, plush chest of his.

Suddenly his tongue laid flat against Jonas’ chest, then licking around the left nipple. Jonas was clutching tighter onto his hair with one hand, toes curling, and erection hardening under Mitch. His other hand was gripping tightly onto Mitch’s bare shoulder. He was doing this  _ right _ and clearly this is just what Jonas wanted.

Mitch played his time wisely, kissing and licking around Jonas’ nipples and collar bones before running both of his large, lanky hands over the soft, squishy curves that made up Jonas’ body. His lips once again played over Jonas’ throat, then made their way up.

They were touching, nose to nose, and lips to lips. Jonas felt like his entire body was on vibrate, his dick was throbbing and aching for Mitch to just  _ get on with it.  _ He should have known that Mitch was a tease. After all, so was he. And he’d already teased Mitch before hand. Now this was just payback.

Jonas was gasping lightly, highly aroused and letting Mitch know it. They locked eyes for a moment, the smugness of Mitch’s pride clear as day. Their lips were touching, but neither of them moved to kiss or speak.

That is, until Jonas decided to say what was on his mind, given the current state of euphoria. “Is this serious?”

“Hell yeah,” Mitch grinned smugly, teasing his lips over Jonas’. “It’s goddamned serious.  Never been more serious about anythin’ in my life besides Bud.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jonas gasped softly, pulling Mitch in for another kiss. He didn’t want to dwell on the moment. He wanted to  _ experience  _ the moment. And Mitch Mueller was going to be the one to give it to him.

And in that moment, Jonas was ever so fucking grateful that the universe had put Buddy Mueller in his class. 


	8. Doing This Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait but . . . . it's HERE?!?!?! THE END?!?!?! This is so bittersweet, I might actually cry a little. God this fic was . . . .so fun and good to write. I loved every bit of it, and it's definitely a strong way to start off my 2018 writing for sure!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read this and enjoyed it. Maybe I'll do some mini kid!Buddy fics separate from this throughout the year. It was really fun writing this kind of au and I would love to do it again. 
> 
> Thank you to my proof-readers GhostHand and Sp00kyB00 for trucking through this fic with me and making sure it's ready to go. Thank you , once again , to everyone who supported this fic. And thank you to Mars for the wonderfulness that is Long Exposure and its characters. ♥ Many many thanks to all of you. This was so much fun to write and I had a WONDERFUL time with it.
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy and happy reading! ♥

* * *

 

**1 Year Later**

 

“You have a good day today, okay?” Jonas grinned softly at the boy in front of him. He was crouched down low towards the ground outside of Sellwood Elementary with Buddy, fixing up his shirt and checking to make sure his shoes were tied snugly. Today was the boy’s first day of first grade and to Jonas, it was amazing at how quickly a year had gone by.

After a few seconds, Mitch had slowly come up behind Jonas, ruffling his son’s hair with a wide grin, a cigarette in between his lips. His heart swelled in his chest, looking down towards his son. He looked just as excited to start school today as he did a year ago in kindergarten. It  _ almost  _ made him tear up again.“My lil’ man all grown up an’going to first grade. Shit, Buddy. I’m proud of ya.” 

Buddy giggled warmly, looking from Jonas up towards Mitch with his little hands grabbing at his backpack straps. He’d gotten a little taller since last year, which meant that Mitch had to get him new clothes and shoes. Bud had been all but excited to go school shopping, rattling on and on about starting first grade. Of course Jonas had helped out amazingly, as well. Buddy was doing better than ever with his color blindness and speaking. He was more than ready and for that, Mitch had every thanks to Jonas.

“I will!” Buddy grinned widely towards Jonas then, bouncing on his feet with anticipation. “I’m so exciteds!” First grade was a big deal. It meant that he was a big boy now and was going to learn a lot more. He hoped that this teacher was as nice as Mr. Jo had been last year, and hoped even further that he would make new friends.

Jonas laughed as he picked Buddy up into his arms, hugging the boy tightly. It seemed just yesterday that he was teaching Buddy in his own classroom, which led to the meeting with Mitch and that, well,  _ that  _ wound up leading to more than Jonas had ever imagined. “I love you, Buddy. You’re going to do great.”

“Sure is,” Mitch flicked his dead cigarette onto the concrete, stomping it out with his heel before leaning over to give Jonas a kiss on the cheek. “We’ve done great wit’ him, Joey. He’s gonna be a champ in school, aren’tcha Bud?”

“Yeah!” Buddy nodded vigorously, clapping his hands together. “Am gonna make sooooo many new fwiends an’learn lotsa new things.”

Jonas grinned, a soft giggle coming out of his mouth as he rubbed his nose softly against Buddy’s. “You’ve grown up so much. I’m proud of you.”

Mitch felt that all too familiar ache in his chest as he watched a bunch of kids run past them into the school building, some of them still saying goodbye to their parents and some of the parents even going inside with their kids. It was the same scene he’d been in when Buddy started kindergarten last year. But now, it was different. 

Now Buddy was older and had learned a lot more and grew as a person. Now, Jonas was his boyfriend and they were living together at Jonas’ apartment with his sister. Now . . . now everything was different; yet it was different in the best way possible. It was different in ways that Mitch never imagined that he would be able to have. For every sense in the word, he had a family now. With Jonas and Buddy . . . with his mom and Jonas’ sister. It was their own little world; their own little family. Mitch couldn’t have been any happier if he tried.

Jonas was setting Buddy back down onto his feet as the first bell began to ring, bringing Mitch out of his thoughts. This was it . . . this was a new chapter in Buddy’s life and Mitch almost wasn’t sure if he was ready for it.

“Hey, Bud?” Mitch bent down then, taking his son’s hands into his own with a shaky smile. He was really trying to keep it together. It seemed like every year, this just got harder and harder. “Remember what I told ya, okay? S’okay ta be afraid an’shit. Just be yerself, and yer gonna do great. I believe in ya. Yer a great kid and anyone would be lucky to be yer friend  _ or  _ yer teacher.”

“T’hank you, Dad,” Buddy grinned at Mitch, bouncing excitedly on his feet. “I’ll do my best to remembers.”

“That’s my boy,” Mitch chuckled, wrapping his son in a tight hug. He took a deep breath in, looking up at Jonas who gave a very reassuring adorable smile. That made Mitch feel better enough to release Buddy and stand up. “Have a good day, Bud, okay?”

“I will!” Buddy cheered, hugging Jonas’ legs quickly before hurrying towards the steps. He looked back as he did so, however and waved with a bright smile at Mitch and Jonas. “Bye Dad! Bye Daddy!”

“See you later, Bud,” Mitch waved back, putting his other arm around Jonas’ shoulders.

Jonas grinned, feeling that familiar warmth feeling in his chest upon hearing Buddy call him “ _ Daddy _ ”; it took a little while to get used to seeing himself as Buddy’s second parent rather than just his teacher, but now it was so common that Jonas didn’t think twice about it. It was such a normal reaction now, and Jonas couldn’t have been any more proud to be considered one of Buddy’s fathers.

As Buddy took off, Jonas leaned against Mitch, sending the boy an enthusiastic wave. “Have a great day, Buddy! Be good!” He laughed as the boy disappeared inside the school building, then gently grasped Mitch’s wrist, leaning his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder. “He’s going to be fine, Mitch. I promise.”

“Yeah . . . yeah I know,” Mitch sucked in a deep breath before planting a kiss on top of Jonas’ head. He started to lead Jonas back over to his car, speaking softly. “Seems like it gets harder every time, ya know?”

Jonas nodded softly, turning around to face Mitch once they reached the beat up black car with a wide, bright smile. “How about we go get breakfast? I don’t have to work today, so we can do whatever you want until we come back to pick up Buddy.”

“Breakfast sounds great,” Mitch leaned in closer towards his boyfriend, pinning Jonas up against the passenger’s side door as he cupped that soft face in between his hands. Their lips met softly in a slow, loving kiss, Jonas only breaking it because of an escaped giggle, his face turning a bright cherry red. 

“I have a feeling you’re not talking about actual food,” Jonas shook his head softly, but still had a smile on his face.

Mitch smirked at that, rubbing a thumb against one of Jonas’ reddened cheeks. “Maybe I am . . . maybe I’m not. There’s only one way ta find out, Spots.”

Jonas stayed quiet for a moment, looking at Mitch with softness in his eyes and a small smile on his lips. He brought his hands up to hold Mitch’s head in between them, his mind going over everything in the last year. It felt like time had gone so slowly, but at the same time everything had been a whirlwind of events. 

“Ya look like yer thinkin, Joey,” Mitch leaned his head only slightly in order to kiss one of Jonas’ soft little hands. “Got somethin’ on yer mind?”

“I just,” Jonas grinned at the hand kiss, making warmth spread all over his body, a small stream of pink and yellow lights beginning to form around them both. He was grateful that the parking lot was now mostly cleared out. “I love you, Mitch, and . . . I don’t know, I just  . . . It’s been an amazing year. You and Buddy mean a lot to me, more than ever and I guess I’m just really grateful. To have you both.”

“Heh,” Mitch looked down towards their feet, a pink blush forming over his face. “That’s fuckin’ sappy, Joey.” After a few seconds, he leaned down to kiss Jonas, collecting their lips once again in a soft embrace.  

When they parted, Mitch looked at Jonas with adoration and love. Never in any lifetime would he have imagined being here right now. With the best kid ever, and now with the best boyfriend ever. They were raising Buddy  _ together _ and that was literally one of the greatest feelings in the world to Mitch. He had everything that he could have possibly ever wanted and then some. Someone like him, who didn’t deserve a penny to his name . . . . had become one of the richest guys in Sellwood because he had Buddy. Because he had Jonas. Because he now had a  _ life _ . A life worth loving, celebrating, and talking about.

It was crazy.

“I love ya, Joey,” Mitch spoke softly through his thoughts, their foreheads softly pressed together. “I’ve got the greatest fuckin’ life ever thanks ta you and Bud. Ya are my world, you know? Both of ya.” 

“You know what?” Jonas beamed brightly at Mitch, pink ribbons of light dancing around them slowly. “I’m pretty sure that I can say the same thing. And I  _ know _ that Buddy would also agree.”

Mitch grinned at that, leaning down to kiss Jonas again before pulling away completely to get a good look at his boyfriend. He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking about the past year, thinking about Buddy and how far his little man had come, and thought further back into his and Jonas’ first date. He chuckled softly to himself then, holding both of Jonas’ hands into his own. “We’re doin’ this right . . . right, Spots? I mean  _ I’m _ doing this right? With Bud and with you? I’m so afraid of fuckin’ this thing up. Losin’ the two most important things in my fuckin’ life. S’only been a year and I -” 

He took a deep breathe, closing his eyes for a second. “I wanna know that what I got now is what I’m gonna have forever, ya know?”

“Mitch,” Jonas tilted his head, squeezing Mitch’s hands into his own as he moved away from the car door. “You’re doing fine. Great, even. And if you don’t feel like some days you have all the answers, well. That’s fine. No parent is perfect. And no boyfriend is perfect.” 

A soft smile played over Jonas’ face as he let Mitch’s hands go, gripping onto his shirt and pulled Mitch down for a kiss. “You’re doing amazing, Mitch. And Buddy and I aren’t going anywhere. We love you just as much as you love us, and we wouldn’t trade this life for anything else.”

“Heh, yeah,” Mitch bit down on his bottom lip slowly. “A’ight how’s about we get outta here and get ya some pancakes?”

Jonas’ eyes lit up at that, nodding before getting into the passenger’s side. He looked out his window then as Mitch got in and started up the engine. His eyes glanced over the outside of the school with a warm feeling in his chest. 

As Mitch pulled away, Jonas absolutely knew that even if he and Mitch didn’t know what was going on half the time, made mistakes, or weren’t exactly the most perfect of parents . . . it didn’t matter. They all had each other and they learned, grew, and loved together. They had their own little family that held its own and came across whatever came their way with determination and confidence.

They might not have the most perfect groove going on, but to Jonas, it didn’t need to be anything but wonderful. Screw perfect. They had completion. They had each other. They had everything that Jonas knew he’d always wanted and what Mitch needed.

And to think it all began with the clumsiest little color-blind boy in Mr. Jonas Wagner’s kindergarten class.


End file.
